Lucille Chapuis

University of Bristol | UB

Bioimaging is changing the field of sensory biology, especially for taxa that are lesser‐known, rare, and logistically difficult to source. When integrated with traditional neurobiological approaches, developing an archival, digital repository of morphological images can offer the opportunity to improve our understanding of whole neural systems wit...

Animals are expected to respond flexibly to changing circumstances, with multimodal signalling providing potential plasticity in social interactions. While numerous studies have documented context-dependent behavioural trade-offs in terrestrial species, far less work has considered such decision-making in fish, especially in natural conditions. Cor...

Fishes, including elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and skates), present an astonishing diversity in inner ear morphologies; however, the functional significance of these variations and how they confer auditory capacity is yet to be resolved. The relationship between inner ear structure and hearing performance is unclear, partly because most of the morp...

Historically, ecological monitoring of marine habitats has primarily relied on labour-intensive, non-automated survey methods. The field of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) has demonstrated the potential of this practice to automate surveying in marine habitats. This has primarily been through the use of ‘ecoacoustic indices’ to quantify attribute...

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a common approach to monitor marine mammal populations, for species of dolphins, porpoises and whales that use sound for navigation, feeding and communication. PAM produces large datasets which benefit from the application of machine learning algorithms to automatically detect and classify the vocalisations of t...

Cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes), including sharks, skates, rays, elephant fishes and chimaeras, have been in existence for over 400 million years and represent early stages of the evolution of extant jawed vertebrates. The sensory systems of cartilaginous fishes, including their hearing apparatus, have adapted to a diverse range of ecosystems...

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) involves recording the sounds of animals and environments for research and conservation. PAM is used in a range of contexts across terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments. However, financial constraints limit applications within aquatic environments; these costs include the high cost of submersible acoustic...

Pantropical degradation of coral reefs is prompting considerable investment in their active restoration. However, current measures of restoration success are based largely on coral cover, which does not fully reflect ecosystem function or reef health. Soundscapes are an important aspect of reef health; loud and diverse soundscapes guide the recruit...

Shark bites on humans are rare but are sufficiently frequent to generate substantial public concern, which typically leads to measures to reduce their frequency. Unfortunately, we understand little about why sharks bite humans. One theory for bites occurring at the surface, e.g. on surfers, is that of mistaken identity, whereby sharks mistake human...

Underwater passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is of growing importance for monitoring the health of aquatic environments. Standard practices use expensive hydrophones to sample soundscapes. They must either be linked to surface recording rigs or use autonomous instrumentation which comes at a premium cost. Although citizen science projects could be...

An anthropogenic cacophony Sound travels faster and farther in water than in air. Over evolutionary time, many marine organisms have come to rely on sound production, transmission, and reception for key aspects of their lives. These important behaviors are threatened by an increasing cacophony in the marine environment as human-produced sounds have...

The size (volume or mass) of the olfactory bulbs in relation to the whole brain has been used as a neuroanatomical proxy for olfactory capability in a range of vertebrates, including fishes. Here, we use diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) to test the value of this novel bioimaging technique for generating accurat...

Motorboats are a pervasive, growing source of anthropogenic noise in marine environments, with known impacts on fish physiology and behaviour. However, empirical evidence for the disruption of parental care remains scarce and stems predominantly from playback studies. Additionally, there is a paucity of experimental studies examining noise-mitigati...

The viviparous sea snakes (Hydrophiinae) are a secondarily aquatic radiation of more than 60 species that possess many phenotypic adaptations to marine life. However, virtually nothing is known of the role and sensitivity of hearing in sea snakes. This study investigated the hearing sensitivity of the fully marine sea snake Hydrophis stokesii by me...

The effect of sound on the behaviour of sharks has not been investigated since the 1970s. Sound is, however, an important sensory stimulus underwater, as it can spread in all directions quickly and propagate further than any other sensory cue. We used a baited underwater camera rig to record the behavioural responses of eight species of sharks (sev...

The evolution of epidermal scales was a major innovation in lepidosaurs, providing a barrier to dehydration and physical stress, while functioning as a sensitive interface for detecting mechanical stimuli in the environment. In snakes, mechanoreception involves tiny scale organs (sensilla) that are concentrated on the surface of the head. The fully...

Personal shark deterrents offer the potential of a non-lethal solution to protect individuals from negative interactions with sharks, but the claims of effectiveness of most deterrents are based on theory rather than robust testing of the devices themselves. Therefore, there is a clear need for thorough testing of commercially available shark deter...

Behavioural response of C. carcharias when encountering an inactive/control (A) or active (B) ESDS. (DOCX)

In the aphotic zone of the deep ocean, mechanisms for conveying information to conspecifics or gathering information about the environment and potential predators are subject to the same physical and ecological limitations as near to the sea surface with the addition of no available light. Passive or active communication often utilises bioluminesce...

Sensory input to the central nervous system is the primary means by which animals respond to variation in their physical and biological environments. It is well established that key threats such as habitat destruction, the introduction of non-native species, and climate change are imposing significant pressures on natural ecosystems, yet surprising...

Sensory systems play a central role in guiding animal behaviour. They can be manipulated to alter behavioural outcomes to limit negative interactions between humans and animals. Sharks are often seen as a threat to humans and there has been increasing interest in developing shark mitigation devices. Previous research has concentrated on stimulating...

Sharks play a vital role in the health of marine ecosystems, but the potential threat that sharks pose to humans is a reminder of our vulnerability when entering the ocean. Personal shark deterrents are being marketed as the solution to mitigate the threat that sharks pose. However, the effectiveness claims of many personal deterrents are based on...

Behavioural response of C. carcharias when encountering an inactive/control (A) or active (B) Shark Shield™. (DOCX)

In the open ocean, the movements and habitat use of large mobile predators are driven by dynamic interactions between biological and physical variables and complex predator–prey relationships. Understanding the spatial and temporal distributions of pelagic fishes and sharks is a critical component of conservation and fisheries management. Here, we...

In cooperative breeders, sexually mature subordinates can either queue for chances to inherit the breeding position in their natal group, or disperse to reproduce independently. The choice of one or the other option may be flexible, as when individuals respond to attractive dispersal options, or they may reflect fixed life-history trajectories. Her...

Signals increase the fitness of a sender by altering the behaviour of receivers. For cooperative interactions biological market theory proposes that signalling strength may be linked to supply and demand. In this context, a recent laboratory experiment demonstrated that cleaner shrimps may advertise their service to client reef fishandthat the adve...

Cleaning mutualism, in which cleaning organisms remove ectoparasites from cooperating ‘clients’, is widespread among marine animals. Until now, research has focused on fishes as cleaners, whereas cleaner shrimps have received little attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the cleaning behaviour of the cleaner shrimp, Periclimenes longic...

Caste differentiation and division of labor are the hallmarks of social insect colonies [1, 2]. The current dogma for female caste differentiation is that female eggs are totipotent, with morphological and physiological differences between queens and workers stemming from a developmental switch during the larval stage controlled by nutritional and...