1990/04/01 by Peter B. Johnsen, H. Zhou, Michael Adams · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Nursing · Neuroscience · #Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth #Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques #Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1990.tb03559.x
openalex publication_date 1990/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The gustatory sensitivity of the herbivorous fish Tilapia zillii was investigated using electrophysiological techniques. Integrated responses from facial taste nerves were recorded during stimulation by l l amino acids. All compounds proved to be effective stimuli. The relative stimulatory efficacy (RSE) determined at 1 × 10 −3 m indicated that stimuli can be organized into three groups on the basis of similarity of efficacy. Effects of pH which altered the RSE of some amino acids are documented. Amino acid RSE differed to some extent from those of previously studied carnivorous fish. There was concordance between the composition of preferred food, effective feeding stimuli and the peripheral receptor responses. These observations support the hypothesis that peripheral chemosensitivity might serve as a mechanism of feeding specialization in some fish.