IT SOUNDS like a fight scene from Star Trek. One side jams the other鈥檚 electrical signal just before attacking, disorienting its rival and asserting its dominance.
Brown ghost knifefish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) discharge high-frequency electric signals to gather information about their environment. Usually they will adjust the frequency to prevent interference when they encounter signals from passing fish. But when brown ghosts come into conflict, they will shift the frequency to nearly match their rival鈥檚, creating disorienting interference, says Sara Tallarovic of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. 鈥淭he fish actually seem to be trying to jam each other,鈥� she says (Animal Behaviour, vol 70, p 1355).
