Comment Nemo through the looking-glass: a commentary on Desjardins & Fernald Mirror-elicited aggression has been widely used in animal behaviour research. Recently, Desjardins & Fernald [1] reported that males of the cichlid fish Asta-totilapia burtoni fighting a mirror had higher expression of immediate early genes in brain areas homologous to the amygdala and the hippocampus than males fighti...

Background: Fluoxetine (ProzacTM) is one of the most popular antidepressant that can be released to aquatic systems via sewage-treatment effluents. It is suspected to provoke substantial effects in the aquatic environment. Methods: In spawning tanks, specimens were exposed to concentrations of 0 and 0.54 µgl-1 fluoxetine from male introduction until the larvae had hatched. Prior to spawning, n...

Within the species Astyanax mexicanus, there are several inter-fertile populations of river-dwelling sighted fish and cave-dwelling blind fish which have evolved morphological and behavioral adaptations. We have recently reported a developmental and neurophysiological basis for the loss of aggressive behavior in the blind cavefish morph of Astyanax. Using an appropriate behavioral assay, we hav...

Sperm collected from male fighting fish Betta splendens were activated in control water, water containing the ion-channel blocker gadolinium (a putative positive control), or water containing the isoflavone phytoestrogen genistein to determine the effects of acute genistein exposure on male reproductive function. Computer-assisted sperm analysis was used to quantify the proportion of sperm that...

The function of fish sounds in territorial defence, in particular its influence on the intruder's behaviour during territorial invasions, is poorly known. Breeding Lusitanian toadfish males (Halobatrachus didactylus) use sounds (boatwhistles) to defend nests from intruders. Results from a previous study suggest that boatwhistles function as a 'keep-out signal' during territorial defence. To tes...