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Zhang Y, Ko H, Calicchia MA, Ni R, Lauder GV. Collective movement of schooling fish reduces the costs of locomotion in turbulent conditions. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002501. [PMID: 38843284 PMCID: PMC11156351 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The ecological and evolutionary benefits of energy-saving in collective behaviors are rooted in the physical principles and physiological mechanisms underpinning animal locomotion. We propose a turbulence sheltering hypothesis that collective movements of fish schools in turbulent flow can reduce the total energetic cost of locomotion by shielding individuals from the perturbation of chaotic turbulent eddies. We test this hypothesis by quantifying energetics and kinematics in schools of giant danio (Devario aequipinnatus) and compared that to solitary individuals swimming under laminar and turbulent conditions over a wide speed range. We discovered that, when swimming at high speeds and high turbulence levels, fish schools reduced their total energy expenditure (TEE, both aerobic and anaerobic energy) by 63% to 79% compared to solitary fish (e.g., 228 versus 48 kj kg-1). Solitary individuals spend approximately 22% more kinematic effort (tail beat amplitude•frequency: 1.7 versus 1.4 BL s-1) to swim in turbulence at higher speeds than in laminar conditions. Fish schools swimming in turbulence reduced their three-dimensional group volume by 41% to 68% (at higher speeds, approximately 103 versus 33 cm3) and did not alter their kinematic effort compared to laminar conditions. This substantial energy saving highlights that schooling behaviors can mitigate turbulent disturbances by sheltering fish (within schools) from the eddies of sufficient kinetic energy that can disrupt locomotor gaits. Therefore, providing a more desirable internal hydrodynamic environment could be one of the ecological drivers underlying collective behaviors in a dense fluid environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangfan Zhang
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Hungtang Ko
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Michael A. Calicchia
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America
| | - Rui Ni
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States of America
| | - George V. Lauder
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Zhang Y, Lauder GV. Energy conservation by collective movement in schooling fish. eLife 2024; 12:RP90352. [PMID: 38375853 PMCID: PMC10942612 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Many animals moving through fluids exhibit highly coordinated group movement that is thought to reduce the cost of locomotion. However, direct energetic measurements demonstrating the energy-saving benefits of fluid-mediated collective movements remain elusive. By characterizing both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic energy contributions in schools of giant danio (Devario aequipinnatus), we discovered that fish schools have a concave upward shaped metabolism-speed curve, with a minimum metabolic cost at ~1 body length s-1. We demonstrate that fish schools reduce total energy expenditure (TEE) per tail beat by up to 56% compared to solitary fish. When reaching their maximum sustained swimming speed, fish swimming in schools had a 44% higher maximum aerobic performance and used 65% less non-aerobic energy compared to solitary individuals, which lowered the TEE and total cost of transport by up to 53%, near the lowest recorded for any aquatic organism. Fish in schools also recovered from exercise 43% faster than solitary fish. The non-aerobic energetic savings that occur when fish in schools actively swim at high speed can considerably improve both peak and repeated performance which is likely to be beneficial for evading predators. These energetic savings may underlie the prevalence of coordinated group locomotion in fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangfan Zhang
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
| | - George V Lauder
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard UniversityCambridgeUnited States
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Song Y, Xie S. Effects of substrate roughening on the swimming performance of Schizothorax wangchiachii (Fang, 1936) in the Heishui River: Implications for vertical slot fishway design. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2024; 104:473-483. [PMID: 36877082 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Re-establishing the natural connectivity of rivers using fishways may mitigate the unfavourable effects of dam construction on riverine biodiversity and freshwater fish populations. Knowledge of the swimming performance of target species in specific regions is critical for designing fishways with a high passage efficiency. Substrate roughening with river stones of fishways is considered to improve fish swimming capacity by benefiting from reduced-velocity zones with lower energetic costs. However, the effectiveness of rough substrates in energy metabolism is rarely tested. We investigated the effect of substrate roughening on the swimming capacity, oxygen consumption and behaviour of Schizothorax wangchiachii from the Heishui River in a flume-type swimming respirometer. The results showed that substrate roughening improved critical and burst swimming speed by ~12.9% and ~15.0%, respectively, compared to the smooth substrate. Our results demonstrate that increased reduced-velocity zones, lowered metabolic rate and tail-beat frequency support our hypothesis that lower energetic costs improve fish swimming performance in rough substrate compared to smooth treatment. The traversable flow velocity model predicted that maximum traversable flow velocity and maximum ascent distance were higher over rough compared to smooth substrate fishways. Fishway substrate roughening may be a practical approach to improve fish swimming upstream for demersal riverine fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqing Song
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in the South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Shanghai Investigation, Design and Research Institute Company Limited, Shanghai, China
| | - Songguang Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in the South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, China
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Crawford R, Gee E, Dupont D, Hicks B, Franklin P. No difference between critical and sprint swimming speeds for two galaxiid species. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2023; 102:1141-1148. [PMID: 36815751 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Researchers have used laboratory experiments to examine how fish might be affected by anthropogenic alterations and conclude how best to adjust fish passage and culvert remediation designs in response. A common way to document swimming performance for this purpose is measuring fish critical swimming speed (Ucrit ). Nonetheless, the Ucrit protocol as defined by Brett [(1964) Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 21, 1183-1226] may be inappropriate for studying swimming performance and determining how it relates to upstream migration in benthic fish, as they may not actively swim throughout the entire Ucrit test. An alternative method to estimate swimming performance is sprint swimming speed (Usprint ), which is suggested to be a measure of the burst speed of fish rather than maximum sustained swimming speed. The authors conducted comparative swimming performance experiments to evaluate whether Usprint can be used to compare swimming performance of benthic species to that of pelagic, actively swimming species. They measured individual swimming speeds of īnanga (Galaxias maculatus), an actively swimming pelagic species, and banded kōkopu (Galaxias fasciatus), a fish that exhibits benthic station-holding behaviour, using both the Usprint and Ucrit test. Experiments revealed that no significant statistical difference between swimming speeds was estimated using the Ucrit and Usprint test protocols for both G. maculatus and G. fasciatus. The result of this study suggests that fish swimming speeds obtained using these two methods are comparable for the species used in this study. By using Usprint for benthic-associated fish and Ucrit for pelagic fish, we may be able to compare a broader range of species' swimming abilities for use in a fish passage context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Crawford
- School of Science, Environmental Research Institute, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Eleanor Gee
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Deborah Dupont
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Brendan Hicks
- School of Science, Environmental Research Institute, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Paul Franklin
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand
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Zhang Y, Gilbert MJH, Farrell AP. Finding the peak of dynamic oxygen uptake during fatiguing exercise in fish. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.196568. [PMID: 31053645 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.196568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
As fish approach fatigue at high water velocities in a critical swimming speed (U crit) test, their swimming mode and oxygen cascade typically move to an unsteady state because they adopt an unsteady, burst-and-glide swimming mode despite a constant, imposed workload. However, conventional rate of oxygen uptake (Ṁ O2 ) sampling intervals (5-20 min) tend to smooth any dynamic fluctuations in active Ṁ O2 (Ṁ O2active) and thus likely underestimate the peak Ṁ O2active Here, we used rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to explore the dynamic nature of Ṁ O2active near U crit using various sampling windows and an iterative algorithm. Compared with a conventional interval regression analysis of Ṁ O2active over a 10-min period, our new analytical approach generated a 23% higher peak Ṁ O2active Therefore, we suggest that accounting for such dynamics in Ṁ O2active with this new analytical approach may lead to more accurate estimates of maximum Ṁ O2 in fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangfan Zhang
- Department of Zoology & Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T1Z4
| | - Matthew J H Gilbert
- Department of Zoology & Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T1Z4
| | - Anthony P Farrell
- Department of Zoology & Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T1Z4
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Effects of Substrate on Movement Patterns and Behavior of Stream Fish through Culverts: An Experimental Approach. SUSTAINABILITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/su11020470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Culverts can provide a significant barrier to fish passage by fragmenting fish habitats and impeding the passage success of small-bodied fish. Geographical connectivity is critical to the maintenance of diverse fish assemblages. Culverts with high cross-sectional velocity can cause population fragmentation by impeding passage of small, freshwater fish. Behavioral responses of small fish to high velocities can differ among functional groups, and swimming behavior of many species is not well known. We tested effects of substrate type on swimming behavior in two small, freshwater fish species—southern leatherside chub (Lepidomeda aliciae, a midwater species), and longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae, a benthic species)—across three substrate treatments: (1) a bare flume, (2) large flow obstacles, and (3) a natural cobble substrate. Both longnose dace and southern leatherside chub used paths of low velocity and swam in the near-substrate boundary area. Fish in the bare flume and large obstacle treatments swam along the corners of the flume in a straight swim path, whereas fish in the natural substrate treatment used all parts of the flume bed. There was no relationship between passage success of fish and substrate type, fish species, or their interaction. In contrast, substrate type, fish species, and their interaction were significant predictors of passage time. Southern leatherside chub passed through the test section about two to four times faster than longnose dace. Both species took longer to pass through the large flow obstacle treatment compared to the bare flume or natural substrate. The natural substrate created a complex velocity profile with areas of low velocity throughout the entire flume, in contrast to the other two treatments. Our data suggest natural substrates can improve the passage of small fish in high-velocity culverts for both benthic and midwater functional groups.
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Dockery DR, McMahon TE, Kappenman KM, Blank M. Evaluation of swimming performance for fish passage of longnose dace Rhinichthys cataractae using an experimental flume. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2017; 90:980-1000. [PMID: 27896814 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The swimming performance of longnose dace Rhinichthys cataractae, the most widely distributed minnow (Cyprinidae) in North America, was assessed in relation to potential passage barriers. The study estimated passage success, maximum ascent distances and maximum sprint speed in an open-channel flume over a range of water velocities and temperatures (10·7, 15·3 and 19·3° C). Rhinichthys cataractae had high passage success (95%) in a 9·2 m flume section at mean test velocities of 39 and 64 cm s-1 , but success rate dropped to 66% at 78 cm s-1 . Only 20% of fish were able to ascend a 2·7 m section with a mean velocity of 122 cm s-1 . Rhinichthys cataractae actively selected low-velocity pathways located along the bottom and corners of the flume at all test velocities and adopted position-holding behaviour at higher water velocities. Mean volitional sprint speed was 174 cm s-1 when fish volitionally sprinted in areas of high water velocities. Swimming performance generally increased with water temperature and fish length. Based on these results, fishways with mean velocities <64 cm s-1 should allow passage of most R. cataractae. Water velocities >100 cm s-1 within structures should be limited to short distance (<1 m) and structures with velocities ≥158 cm s-1 would probably represent movement barriers. Study results highlighted the advantages of evaluating a multitude of swimming performance metrics in an open-channel flume, which can simulate the hydraulic features of fishways and allow for behavioural observations that can facilitate the design of effective passage structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- D R Dockery
- Ecology Department, Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program, Montana State University, P. O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3460, U.S.A
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bozeman Fish Technology Center, 4050 Bridger Canyon Road, Bozeman, MT, 59715-8433, U.S.A
| | - T E McMahon
- Ecology Department, Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program, Montana State University, P. O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3460, U.S.A
| | - K M Kappenman
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bozeman Fish Technology Center, 4050 Bridger Canyon Road, Bozeman, MT, 59715-8433, U.S.A
| | - M Blank
- Civil Engineering Department, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3900, U.S.A
- Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, 2327 University Way, Bozeman, MT, 59717-4250, U.S.A
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Arenas A, Politano M, Weber L, Timko M. Analysis of movements and behavior of smolts swimming in hydropower reservoirs. Ecol Modell 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Farrell AP. Cardiorespiratory performance during prolonged swimming tests with salmonids: a perspective on temperature effects and potential analytical pitfalls. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2008; 362:2017-30. [PMID: 17553773 PMCID: PMC2442863 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A prolonged swimming trial is the most common approach in studying steady-state changes in oxygen uptake, cardiac output and tissue oxygen extraction as a function of swimming speed in salmonids. The data generated by these sorts of studies are used here to support the idea that a maximum oxygen uptake is reached during a critical swimming speed test. Maximum oxygen uptake has a temperature optimum. Potential explanations are advanced to explain why maximum aerobic performance falls off at high temperature. The valuable information provided by critical swimming tests can be confounded by non-steady-state swimming behaviours, which typically occur with increasing frequency as salmonids approach fatigue. Two major concerns are noted. Foremost, measurements of oxygen uptake during swimming can considerably underestimate the true cost of transport near critical swimming speed, apparently in a temperature-dependent manner. Second, based on a comparison with voluntary swimming ascents in a raceway, forced swimming trials in a swim tunnel respirometer may underestimate critical swimming speed, possibly because fish in a swim tunnel respirometer are unable to sustain a ground speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Farrell
- Zoology Department, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4.
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Gilmour KM, Wilson RW, Sloman KA. The Integration of Behaviour into Comparative Physiology. Physiol Biochem Zool 2005; 78:669-78. [PMID: 16047293 DOI: 10.1086/432144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/18/2005] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Comparative physiology has traditionally focused on the physiological responses of animals to their physicochemical environment. In recent years, awareness has increased among physiologists of the potential for behavioural factors, such as the social environment of the animal, to affect physiological condition and responses. This recognition has led to an emerging trend within the field toward using multidisciplinary approaches that incorporate both behavioural and physiological techniques. Research areas in which the integrated study of behaviour and physiology has been particularly fruitful include the physiology of the social environment, sensory physiology and behaviour, and physiological constraints on behavioural ecology. The manner in which incorporating behavioural considerations has informed the physiological data collected is discussed for each of these areas using specific examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- K M Gilmour
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 150 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada.
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