Electric Attraction

This chapter assesses the ability of animals to detect and interpret electric information. While sharks often use chemical information to track down prey from a long distance, many species enlist their electric sense to detect electric cues and determine the prey’s precise location and direct their attacks. Although it is normally used for prey detection, the electric sense can sometimes be used in defence too. The chapter then explores the diversity of ways electricity is produced and used by weakly electric fish. Meanwhile, the platypus can use their electric sense both to avoid objects in the water and to locate small prey items. The echidna also has receptors on the tip of its snout that respond to electric information, but its electric sense seems quite limited. Finally, the chapter considers how bees are able to detect electric fields associated with flowers.