title: Marine teleost locates live prey through pH sensing.
abstract: We report that the Japanese sea catfish Plotosus japonicus senses local pH-associated increases in H(+)/CO2 equating to a decrease of ≤0.1 pH unit in ambient seawater. We demonstrated that these sensors, located on the external body of the fish, detect undamaged cryptic respiring prey, such as polychaete worms. Sensitivity is maximal at the natural pH of seawater (pH 8.1 to 8.2) and decreases dramatically in seawater with a pH <8.0.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. jcap@lsu.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caprio
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Department of Chemistry and BioScience, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.
authors.forename: Mami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimohara
authors.affiliation: 409 Koyocho, Sukagawa, Fukushima, 962-0401, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marui
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Physiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuitsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Department of Chemistry and BioScience, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.
authors.forename: Sadao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiyohara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002397:Catfishes / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005502:Food; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007564:Japan; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010465:Perception; D011077:Polychaeta; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*