Research Interest

My research interests centre on acoustic communication in animals, with a particular focus on fish. I investigate various aspects of how fish produce, perceive, and use sound, including:

  • Intraspecific and interspecific communication

  • Relationships between acoustic signals and behaviour

  • Environmental and anthropogenic influences on communication and behavioural responses

  • Morphology and function of sound-producing structures

  • Mechanisms of sound perception (auditory periphery and hearing sensitivity)

  • Methods and analysis of acoustic signals

My current research focuses on the functional morphology of auditory structures and the inner ear in fishes (teleosts), in particular, otophysan species. The study explores how key components of the auditory system, like the swim bladder, the Weberian ossicles, and the otoliths, interact to facilitate sound perception and transmission. To address these questions, we employ synchrotron-based tomographic imaging, which allows for highly detailed, non-invasive visualization of internal structures. By applying time-resolved 4D tomography, we can capture and analyse dynamic movements and functional relationships in real time. This innovative approach represents a major methodological advancement, providing unprecedented insights into how the hearing structures of fishes contribute to the function of the inner ear and, more broadly, to the evolution of vertebrate auditory systems.

CV

Academic Education

2016 – 2022 PhD, University of Vienna, Behavioural Biology and Bioacoustics
2005 – 2013 Mag.rer.nat. (M.Sc.), University of Vienna, Behavioural Biology and Zoology

Academic Positions

July 2023 – present Postdoctoral researcher, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

July 2022 – June 2023 Postdoctoral researcher, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland

2018 - 2022 Doctoral candidate (FWF project P31045)

2014 - 2022 Lecturer at the University of Vienna

2012 - 2014 Tutor (University of Vienna)

2011 - 2012 Research associate (FWF project P 22319)

Publications, Congress Contributions and Posters

Orcid: 0000-0002-2351-7809

Maiditsch IP, Schulz-Mirbach T, Heß M, Ladich F, Stampanoni M & Schlepütz CM (2025). A standing wave tube-like setup designed for tomographic imaging of the sound-induced motion patterns in fish hearing structures. BMC Biology, 23(1), 277. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02388-4

Qu Q, Maiditsch IP, Heß M, Schulz-Mirbach T, Stampanoni M & Schlepütz CM (2025). Measurement of sub-micron motion of fish hearing structures in 4D synchrotron CT. Measurement, 117654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2025.117654

Maiditsch IP and Ladich F. (2023). Effects of noise on acoustic and visual signalling in the Croaking Gourami: differences in adaptation strategies in fish. Bioacoustics. doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2022.2086174

Maiditsch IP and Ladich F. (2022c). Noise-induced masking of hearing in a labyrinth fish: Effects on sound detection in croaking gouramis. PeerJ, 10, e14230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14230

Maiditsch IP and Ladich F. (2022b). Different sound characteristics produced by the left and right pectoral fins constitute a new form of lateralization in a vocal fish. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology, 339(1), 112-119. DOI: 10.1002/jez.2660

Maiditsch IP, Ladich F, Heß M, Schlepütz CM and Schulz-Mirbach T. (2022). Revealing sound-induced motion patterns in fish hearing structures in 4D: a standing wave tube-like setup designed for high-resolution time-resolved tomography. Journal of Experimental Biology 225, jeb.243614. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243614

Maiditsch IP and Ladich F. (2022a). Acoustic and visual adaptations to predation risk: A predator affects communication in vocal female fish. Current Zoology. Volume 68, Issue 2, Pages 149–157, https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab049

Ladich F and Maiditsch IP. (2020). Temperature affects sound production in fish with two sets of sonic organs: the Pictus cat. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 240, 110589. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2019.110589

Schulz-Mirbach T, Ladich F, Mittone A, Olbinado M, Bravin A, Maiditsch IP, Melzer RR, Krysl P and Heß M. (2020). Auditory chain reaction: Effects of sound pressure and particle motion on auditory structures in fishes. PLoS One 15(3): e0230578. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230578

Ladich F and Maiditsch IP. (2018). Acoustic signalling in female fish: factors influencing sound characteristics in croaking gouramis. Bioacoustics, 27:4, 377-390, DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2017.1359669

Maiditsch IP and Ladich F. (2014). Effects of temperature on auditory sensitivity in eurythermal fishes: common carp Cyprinus carpio (Family Cyprinidae) versus wels catfish Silurus glanis (Family Siluridae). PLOS ONE 9, e108583. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108583

Maiditsch I, Liedtke HC, Ng'Wava JM, Hödl W. (2011). Advertisement and close-range encounter call of Arthroleptis schubotzi Nieden, 1911, with notes on phonotaxis and sexual dimorphism in the third manual digit (Anura: Arthroleptidae). Herpetozoa 24_1_2: 23-31.

Congress Contributions

1. Maiditsch IP, Schulz-Mirbach T, Ladich F, Stampanoni M, Heß M & Schlepütz CM (2025). Tomographic Imaging using an experimental standing wave tube-like setup to explore moving fish hearing structures. 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, joint with 25th International Congress on Acoustics, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (Talk).

2. Maiditsch IP, Schlepütz CM, Heß M, Schulz-Mirbach T. (2024). Shedding X-ray light on the sound-induced motion patterns of hearing structures in fish, focusing on the saccular otolith in three catfish species. 116th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society (DZG), Stuttgart, Germany (Talk).

3. Maiditsch IP, Schulz-Mirbach T, Heß M, Schlepütz CM. (2024). Exploring moving fish hearing structures: Tomographic Imaging using an experimental standing wave tube-like setup and its implications for aquatic research. 116th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society (DZG), Stuttgart, Germany (Poster à Winner Best Poster Award in the topic morphology).

4. Schlepütz CM, Maiditsch IP, Schmeltz M, Ivanovic A, Qu Q, Wimmer W, Heß M, Anschuetz L, Schulz-Mirbach T, Bonnin A, Stampanoni M. (2024). Revealing sound-induced motion patterns in auditory systems with retrospectively gated time-resolved X-ray microtomography. International Conference on X-Ray Microscopy, Lund, Sweden.

5. Schlepütz CM, Maiditsch IP, Qu Q, Heß M, Schulz-Mirbach T. (2024). Revealing sound-induced motion patterns in the auditory system of fish. International Conference on Tomography of Materials and Structures (ICTMS), South Africa, Africa.

6. Maiditsch IP, Schlepütz CM, Qu Q, Ladich F, Heß M, Schulz-Mirbach T. (2023). 4D tomography sheds light on how shape variation leads to differences in otolith motion patterns in three catfish species. 7th International Otolith Symposium Viña del Mar Chile (Abstract).

7. Maiditsch IP, Limburg KE, Schulz-Mirbach T. (2023). Can marine multi-stressors make you deaf? 7th International Otolith Symposium Viña del Mar Chile (Poster)

8. Maiditsch IP, Schulz-Mirbach T, Qu Q, Heß M, Schlepütz CM. (2023). Shedding X-ray light on the sound-induced motion patterns of the inner ear in two model species, the zebrafish and the glass catfish. XVII European Congress of Ichthyology, Praha, Czech Republic (Talk).

9. Maiditsch IP. (2022). Sound transmission from the Weberian apparatus to the inner ears: New insights into motion patterns of auditory structures in fishes. International HEARING workshop, Ascona, Switzerland (Keynote lecture)

10. Maiditsch IP. (2022). Innovations in hearing research methodologies. International HEARING workshop, Ascona, Switzerland (Talk-Basic science round table)

11. Maiditsch IP. (2022). Acoustic and visual adaptations to predation risk: A predator affects communication in vocal female fish. CoBeNe PhD Academy Online Conference (Talk).

12. Schulz-Mirbach, T CM Schlepütz, Heß M, Gstöhl SJ, Maiditsch IP, Ladich F. (2021). The Weberian apparatus in action: How do the auditory structures of otophysan fishes interact during sound exposure? 92nd Annual Meeting of the Paläontologische Gesellschaft, Vienna, Austria.

13. Schulz-Mirbach T, Mittone A, Olbinado M, Schlepütz C, Ladich F, Maiditsch IP, Krysl P, Melzer R, Heß M. (2019). How do fish otliths and ancillary hearing structures move in a sound field? Insights from synchrotron radiation-based imaging. Palaeo & Life 2019: 137, Munich, Germany.

14. Maiditsch IP, Ladich F. (2019). Predation threat and acoustic communication in Croaking Gouramis (Labyrinth Fishes) International Bioacoustics Congress, Brighton, UK (Poster)

15. Maiditsch IP, Ladich F. (2019). Predation threat and acoustic communication in Croaking Gouramis (Labyrinth Fishes) Graduate summer school “Acoustic Communication", Denmark (Poster)

What are you looking for?

More information about Google data transfer in LMU's Privacy Policy.