2025/11/18 by Jiahuan Liu, Andy Kraja, Samantha N. Davis +4 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications #Physiological and biochemical adaptations #Animal Behavior and Reproduction
paper · doi:10.1101/2025.11.18.689084
ABSTRACT Most fish are inherently unstable and must swim to stabilize posture. How diurnal fish reduce activity at night while maintaining postural control remains unclear. We defined distinct locomotor strategies that larval zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) use to control posture and navigate the water column in response to light and circadian cues. In the dark, larvae maintain balance by swimming in long bouts with large nose-up rotations, compensating for nose-down drift accrued during prolonged inactivity. Effective postural compensation requires vestibular sensation from the utricle. By contrast, in the light, larvae navigate with short, frequent, and variable bouts. While lighting exerts a dominant, masking effect on the locomotor strategies, circadian rhythms modulate swim kinematics. Our results reveal distinct light-dark locomotor strategies and disentangle how ambient light and the internal clock jointly shape balance control and navigation. This work lays the foundation for understanding how external and internal cues interact to govern locomotor activity in freely moving diurnal animals.