Taste Responses of Carp Fishes (Cyprinidae) to Carboxylic Acids. 2. Feeding Behavior
摘要
The feeding behavior of the dace Leuciscus leuciscus, roach Rutilus rutilus, and common carp Cyprinus carpio was studied using orosensory testing with agar pellets containing carboxylic acids and some other substances (10−1 M). We found that feeding behavior is characterized by species-specific features and features common to these fishes. Dace and common carp in about 10% of experiments reject pellets for repeated grasps, the number of which reaches eight and six, respectively. Roach is more likely to manipulate and make repeated grasps of pellets in >45% of experiments, the maximum number of grasps being 14. The number of repeated grasps does not correlate with the palatability of pellets and does not affect the total duration of their retention in the mouth, which in dace, roach, and common carp does not exceed 1 s in 20, 30, and 60% of experiments, respectively, and positively correlates with the palatability of pellets. The maximum total duration of pellet handling reaches 55 s in dace, 109 s in roach, and 53 s in common carp. When consuming pellets, fish retain them many times longer than when not consuming: up to 13 times in dace, 12–15 times in common carp, and up to 20–30 times in roach. Differences in manipulation activity are less pronounced, no more than 1.5–2.0 times. Fish show stereotypic reactions when testing pellets of any taste quality, the differences between stereotypes are stronger the higher the taste attractiveness of pellets. The relationship between the manifestation of behavior during orosensory food testing and peculiarities of fish biology is discussed.