Collective movement of schooling fish reduces locomotor cost in turbulence

Abstract

The ecological and evolutionary benefits of collective behaviours 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) compared to solitary individuals swimming under control 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 63­–79% compared to solitary fish. Solitary individuals spend ~25% more kinematic effort (tail beat amplitude*frequency) to swim in turbulence at higher speeds than in control conditions. However, fish schools swimming in turbulence reduced their three-dimensional group volume by 41–68% (at higher speeds) and did not alter their kinematic effort compared to control conditions. This substantial energy saving highlighted a ~261% higher TEE when fish swimming alone in turbulence are compared to swimming in a school. Schooling behaviour could mitigate turbulent disturbances by sheltering fish within schools from the eddies of sufficient kinetic energy that can disrupt the locomotor gaits. Providing a more desirable internal hydrodynamic environment could be one of the ecological drivers underlying collective behaviours in a dense fluid environment.