Olfactory sensitivity of the Mozambique tilapia to conspecific odours

Abstract

Electro‐olfactogram (EOG) recordings from female Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus gave large responses (up to 45 mV) to water previously occupied by sexually active males. Male body‐fluids also elicited very strong olfactory responses with thresholds of detection of c . 1: 10 6.9 (bile), 1: 10 5.2 (urine) and 1: 10 4.9 (faeces). Considering the likely rates of release of these fluids, it is the urine that provides the strongest olfactory stimulus for females. Crude fractionation of the male water and body‐fluids implicated: (a) sulphated compounds, possibly steroids, as the most potent odorant in the urine (and water previously occupied by males), and (b) bile acids in the faeces and bile. Although the olfactory system of Mozambique tilapia was found to be sensitive to a range of amino acids and bile acids, steroids present in Mozambique tilapia plasma and steroids known to act as pheromones in other species elicited negligible responses. Although the present study clearly suggests that chemical communication might be important in Mozambique tilapia, the exact chemical identity of the compounds involved, and their biological functions, remain to be elucidated.