Plasticity of Electric Organ Discharge Waveform in the South African Bulldog Fish, Marcusenius pongolensis: Tradeoff Between Male Attractiveness and Predator Avoidance?

Here, we demonstrate short-term plasticity in male EOD waveform in 10 captive M. pongolensis. An increase in EOD duration was experimentally evoked in two different ways: by exchanging the familiar neighbours of experimental subjects for stranger males that were separated by plastic mesh partitions, or by separating familiar fish by plastic mesh partitions introduced into their common tank. Both treatments evoked an increase of male EOD duration. Values exceeded those found in the non-reproductive season in nature. In one male the increase of EOD duration was 5.7 fold, from 356 µs to 2029 µs. An increase in EOD duration was accompanied by a high level of aggression directed against the neighbours through the plastic mesh. With conditions remaining constant, EOD duration receded to 38 – 50% of the maximum EOD duration after 10 weeks, or, more rapidly, when sensory contact between the fish was severely restricted by the introduction of a solid plastic wall.