Goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris) have a sex-dependent magnetic compass for maintaining site fidelity

The goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris) is a commercially important fish that inhabits coastal areas across the eastern Atlantic. This species moves from a shallow home territory along the coast into deeper waters in the autumn and winter and then returns to that same territory in the spring. Only male goldsinny wrasse exhibit strong territorial behavior, which may manifest as sexual differences in the ability or motivation to return to home territories. The orientation mechanism underlying the homing migration of goldsinny wrasse males and females is unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that goldsinny wrasse use the magnetic field of the Earth to follow a compass-based path toward their home territory. To test this hypothesis, we collected 50 adult goldsinny wrasse, approximately half males and half females, in a harbor in Austevoll, Norway. Fish were translocated to a magnetoreception laboratory situated north of the site of capture, in which the magnetic field was artificially rotated. In the laboratory, males oriented toward the magnetic south taking a mean direction of 201 degrees, which is the approximate direction that they would have had to take to return to the site at which they were captured. Females oriented in random magnetic directions. There was no difference in swimming kinematics between males and females. These results show that male goldsinny wrasse have a magnetic compass that they could use to maintain site fidelity, an ability that could help them and other coastal fish undertake repeatable short-range migrations.