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Spike dives of juvenile southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii): a navigational role?

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Author

  • Jay Willis
  • John Phillips
  • Rachel Muheim
  • Francisco Javier Diego-Rasilla
  • Alistair J. Hobday

Summary, in English

Tunas make sharp descents and ascents around dawn and dusk called spike dives. We examine spike dives of 21 southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) implanted with archival tags in the Great Australian Bight. Using a new way to categorize this behavior, we show that spike dives are similar among all the fish in the study. The dive profiles are mirror images at dawn and dusk and are precisely timed with respect to sunrise and sunset. We analyze the possible reasons for spike dives, considering the timing of spike dives, the characteristic dive profile, and the tuna's magnetic habitat. In addition, we present anatomical evidence for elaboration of the pineal organ, which is light mediated and has been implicated in navigation in other vertebrates. The new evidence presented here leads us to suspect that spike dives represent a survey related to navigation.

Publishing year

2009

Language

English

Pages

57-68

Publication/Series

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Volume

64

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Zoology

Keywords

  • Polarized light
  • Magnetic navigation
  • Compass
  • Migration
  • Pineal gland
  • Archival tags

Status

Published

Research group

  • Lund Vision Group

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1432-0762