The jamming avoidance response is a behavior of some species of weakly electric fish. It occurs when two electric fish with wave discharges meet – if their discharge frequencies are very similar, each fish shifts its discharge frequency to increase the difference between the two. By doing this, both fish prevent jamming of their sense of electroreception.
The behavior has been most intensively studied in the South American species Eigenmannia virescens. It is also present in other Gymnotiformes such as Apteronotus, as well as in the African species Gymnarchus niloticus. The jamming avoidance response was one of the first complex behavioral responses in a vertebrate to have its neural circuitry completely specified. As such, it holds special significance in the field of neuroethology.
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