title: Effects of temperature on auditory sensitivity in eurythermal fishes: common carp Cyprinus carpio (Family Cyprinidae) versus Wels catfish Silurus glanis (family Siluridae).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In ectothermal animals such as fish, -temperature affects physiological and metabolic processes. This includes sensory organs such as the auditory system. The reported effects of temperature on hearing in eurythermal otophysines are contradictory. We therefore investigated the effect on the auditory system in species representing two different orders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hearing sensitivity was determined using the auditory evoked potentials (AEP) recording technique. Auditory sensitivity and latency in response to clicks were measured in the common carp Cyprinus carpio (order Cypriniformes) and the Wels catfish Silurus glanis (order Siluriformes) after acclimating fish for at least three weeks to two different water temperatures (15°C, 25°C and again 15°C). Hearing sensitivity increased with temperature in both species. Best hearing was detected between 0.3 and 1 kHz at both temperatures. The maximum increase occurred at 0.8 kHz (7.8 dB) in C. carpio and at 0.5 kHz (10.3 dB) in S. glanis. The improvement differed between species and was in particular more pronounced in the catfish at 4 kHz. The latency in response to single clicks was measured from the onset of the sound stimulus to the most constant positive peak of the AEP. The latency decreased at the higher temperature in both species by 0.37 ms on average.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study shows that higher temperature improves hearing (lower thresholds, shorter latencies) in eurythermal species from different orders of otophysines. Differences in threshold shifts between eurythermal species seem to reflect differences in absolute sensitivity at higher frequencies and they furthermore indicate differences to stenothermal (tropical) species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Isabelle Pia
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Maiditsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ladich
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002347:Carps; D002397:Catfishes; D011930:Reaction Time; D013696:Temperature