Science Nation: Electric Fish Charges Up Research on Animal Behavior
An electric eel can generate enough current to stun its prey. Johns Hopkins University neuroethologist Eric Fortune traveled to Ecuador to study electric knifefish in their native habitat. Back at Johns Hopkins University, research collaborator mechanical engineer Noah Cowan and the rest of the team use Fortune's field data to help with their observations and experiments in the lab. With support from the National Science Foundation, they are studying the knifefish to learn more about how the brains of animals work to control their behavior.
Media Details
Runtime: 2 minutes 33 seconds
- Topic: Science
- Subtopic: Animal Behavior, Biology, Fish, Physiology
- Grade/Interest Level: 7 - 12
- Standards:
- Release Year: 2009
- Producer/Distributor: National Science Foundation
- Series: Science Nation
- Report a Problem
Related Media
![Computer screens with color-shaded images of a spiral shaped storm. Caption: study hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards from the inside.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9038_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Doppler on Wheels--The Biggest 'Dish' on the Road
![Person filling a glass from a faucet. Caption: our risk of contracting some form of cancer would go up.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9039_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Testing the Waters--1,4-Dioxane in North Carolina's Cape Fear River Basin
![Green landscape with a hillside in the background. A small industrial installation is present. Caption: They don't know where to get information they can trust.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9040_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Hydraulic Fracturing--Using Scientific Methods to Evaluate Trade-Offs
![Robotic arms manipulating a small ball. Caption: is pushing the world of robotics and prosthetics](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9041_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Giving Robots and Prostheses the Human Touch
![Bolt of lightning arcing from cloud to ground. Caption: we all want up-to-the-minute information.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9042_1.jpg)
Science Nation: CASA Radar Tracks Tornadoes
![Cluster of nerve fibers. Caption: that can image deep into biological tissue,](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9043_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Biophotonics Poised to Make Major Breakthroughs in Medicine
![Dirty water with bubbles and PVC pipes. Caption: and reused again and again in a sustainable loop.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9044_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Off the Water Grid--Energy Efficient and Sustainable
![Person with a fabric cap strapped to their head. The cap has metal rivets and wires attached. Captions: (female) it feels maybe like a mild itchy or tingling sensation.](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9045_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Could a "Thinking Cap" Help Us Learn?
![Microscopic image showing web-like structures and C shaped tubular organisms. Caption: (narrator) The soil itself is home to a vast number of tiny microbes,](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9046_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Arctic Soils Key to Future Climate
![White glowing orb against a black grid. Caption: Weakly Interacting Massive Particle](https://org-dcmp-staticassets.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/posterimages/9047_1.jpg)
Science Nation: Hunting for the WIMPS of the Universe