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 A study unveiled on Wednesday detailed how these dangerous
denizens of the muddy waterways of South America's Amazon and
Orinoco basins can double the voltage of their jolts by curling
their serpentine bodies to adjust the position of the positive and
negative poles of their electric organ.
The scientist who conducted the research also described how the eels
use electrical pulses as a radar system to track prey as well as to
immobilize prey by causing strong, involuntary muscle contractions
in an electrifying form of remote control.
Vanderbilt University neurobiologist Kenneth Catania said some have
viewed electric eels as unsophisticated, primitive creatures with a
single tool in the toolbox, shocking their prey to death, while in
reality they manipulate their electric fields in complex ways that
only now are being appreciated.
 The new study, published in the journal Current Biology, reveals how
the eels use a unique maneuver to ratchet up their jolt when
attacking large or difficult prey.
The eel first bites the prey. It then curls its body around the prey
in a way that places the negative pole its electric organ, located
in the tail, close to the positive pole, located in its head. By
bringing the two poles near one another, with the prey trapped in
between, the eel more than doubles the voltage inflicted upon the
prey.
This causes rapid, involuntary fatigue in the prey's muscles,
enabling the eel to thwart any escape.
"What I like about these findings is they are inevitable and yet
incredible," Catania said.
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"We know from basic physics that bringing two electrical poles
together concentrates the electric field, and we know from basic
muscle physiology that running a muscle too fast for too long causes
exhaustion. But I would never have imagined an electric eel could
produce the same results."
Electric eels, reaching lengths of 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.5 meters),
possess electric organs with specialized cells called electrocytes
that can generate a discharge up to 600 volts to subdue prey or ward
off predators.
In a separate study last week in the journal Nature Communications,
Catania showed the eels also employ their electrical powers as a
radar system to track fast-moving prey. The study showed the eels
used feedback from their high-voltage volleys to pinpoint the
position of prey.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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