RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Sensory tuning does not match behavioral relevance of communication signals in free-living weakly electric fish JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 114249 DO 10.1101/114249 A1 Jörg Henninger A1 Rüdiger Krahe A1 Frank Kirschbaum A1 Jan Grewe A1 Jan Benda YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/08/12/114249.abstract AB Sensory systems evolve in the ecological niches each species is occupying. Accordingly, the tuning of sensory neurons is expected to be adapted to the statistics of natural stimuli. For an unbiased quantification of sensory scenes we tracked natural communication behavior of the weakly electric fish Apteronotus rostratus in their Neotropical rainforest habitat with high spatio-temporal resolution over several days. In the context of courtship and aggression we observed large quantities of electrocommunication signals. Echo responses and acknowledgment signals clearly demonstrated the behavioral relevance of these signals. The known tuning properties of peripheral electrosensory neurons suggest, however, that they are barely activated by these obviously relevant signals. Frequencies of courtship signals are clearly mismatched with the frequency tuning of neuronal population activity. Our results emphasize the importance of quantifying sensory scenes derived from freely behaving animals in their natural habitats for understanding the evolution and function of neural systems.