2008/09/05 by Shane P. Windsor, Delfinn Sweimay Tan, John C. Montgomery · 3 citations
Environmental Science · Engineering · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Fish Ecology and Management Studies #Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms #Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
paper · doi:10.1242/jeb.020453
openalex publication_date 2008/09/05 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Blind Mexican cave fish (Astyanax fasciatus) lack a functioning visual system, and are known to use self-generated water motion to sense their surroundings; an ability termed hydrodynamic imaging. Nearby objects distort the flow field created by the motion of the fish. These flow distortions are sensed by the mechanosensory lateral line. Here we used image processing to measure detailed kinematics, along with a new behavioural technique, to investigate the effectiveness of hydrodynamic imaging. In a head-on approach to a wall, fish reacted to avoid collision with the wall at an average distance of only 4.0+/-0.2 mm. Contrary to previous expectation, there was no significant correlation between the swimming velocity of the fish and the distance at which they reacted to the wall. Hydrodynamic imaging appeared to be most effective when the fish were gliding with their bodies held straight, with the proportion of approaches to the wall that resulted in collision increasing from 11% to 73% if the fish were beating their tails rather than gliding as they neared the wall. The swimming kinematics of the fish were significantly different when swimming beside a wall compared with when swimming away from any walls. Blind cave fish frequently touched walls when swimming alongside them, indicating that they use both tactile and hydrodynamic information in this situation. We conclude that although hydrodynamic imaging can provide effective collision avoidance, it is a short-range sense that may often be used synergistically with direct touch.