Three-dimensional analysis of the fast-start escape response of the least killifish,<i>Heterandria formosa</i>

Fleuren, M.; Leeuwen, J.L. van; Quicazan-Rubio, Elsa M.; Pieters, R.P.M.; Pollux, Bart J. A.; Voesenek, Cees J.

doi:10.1242/jeb.168609

Cited by 18 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies of adult fish have shown that the turn angle of the head in stage 1 correlates with the turn angle during the complete fast start (Domenici and Blake, 1993;Eaton et al, 1988;Fleuren et al, 2018). This has also been found for fast starts of zebrafish larvae (Nair et al, 2015); in addition, the tail angle and the azimuth change during fast starts were found to be correlated.…”

Section: Reorienting the Bodysupporting

confidence: 65%

“…We divided the fast start into stages following the same method as Fleuren et al (2018), and analysed the first two stages. The durations of stage 1 and stage 2 were significantly correlated (P<0.001, N=33; correlation coefficient 0.79, CI 95% : [0.70, 0.89]).…”

Section: Stages Of the Fast Startmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The kinematics of the fast start have been characterised in many species (Domenici and Blake, 1993;Fleuren et al, 2018;Kasapi et al, 1993;Müller and Van Leeuwen, 2004). Fast starts have been stated to occur mostly in the horizontal plane (Domenici and Blake, 1997), and most studies investigate two-dimensional kinematics from singlecamera high-speed video (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Domenici and Blake, 1993;Harper and Blake, 1990;Hertel, 1966). However, three-dimensional kinematics studies show a vertical motion component in adults (Butail and Paley, 2012;Fleuren et al, 2018;Kasapi et al, 1993) and larval fish (Nair et al, 2015;Stewart et al, 2014). This vertical component is ecologically relevant, as it may influence the effectiveness of predator evasion with the escape response (Stewart et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Reorientation and propulsion in fast-starting zebrafish larvae: an inverse dynamics analysis

Voesenek

Pieters

Muijres

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most fish species use fast starts to escape from predators. Zebrafish larvae perform effective fast starts immediately after hatching. They use a C-start, where the body curls into a C-shape, and then unfolds to accelerate. These escape responses need to fulfil a number of functional demands, under the constraints of the fluid environment and the larva's body shape. Primarily, the larvae need to generate sufficient escape speed in a wide range of possible directions, in a short-enough time. In this study, we examined how the larvae meet these demands. We filmed fast starts of zebrafish larvae with a unique five-camera setup with high spatiotemporal resolution. From these videos, we reconstructed the 3D swimming motion with an automated method and from these data calculated resultant hydrodynamic forces and, for the first time, 3D torques. We show that zebrafish larvae reorient mostly in the first stage of the start by producing a strong yaw torque, often without using the pectoral fins. This reorientation is expressed as the body angle, a measure that represents the rotation of the complete body, rather than the commonly used head angle. The fish accelerates its centre of mass mostly in stage 2 by generating a considerable force peak while the fish 'unfolds'. The escape direction of the fish correlates strongly with the amount of body curvature in stage 1, while the escape speed correlates strongly with the duration of the start. This may allow the fish to independently control the direction and speed of the escape.

show abstract

Section: Reorienting the Bodysupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Stages Of the Fast Startmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Reorientation and propulsion in fast-starting zebrafish larvae: an inverse dynamics analysis

Voesenek

Pieters

Muijres

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To incorporate the time required for the prey to turn, T prey was divided into two phases: the fast-start phase, which includes the time for turning and acceleration ( T 1 ), and the constant speed phase ( T 2 ). This assumption is consistent with the previous studies (26–28) and was supported by our experiment (See Fig. S3).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Geometric model incorporating prey’s turn and predator attack endpoint explains multiple preferred escape trajectories

Kawabata

Akada

Shimatani

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To evade predators, many prey perform rapid escape movements. The resulting escape trajectory (ET) – measured as the angle of escape direction relative to the predator’s approach path – plays a major role in avoiding predation. Previous geometrical models predict a single ET; however, many animals (fish and other animal taxa) show highly variable ETs with multiple preferred directions. Although such a high ET variability may confer unpredictability, preventing predators from adopting counter-strategies, the reasons why animals prefer specific multiple ETs remain unclear. Here, we constructed a novel geometrical model in which Tdiff (the time difference between the prey entering the safety zone and the predator reaching that entry point) is expected to be maximized. We tested this prediction by analyzing the escape responses of Pagrus major attacked by a dummy predator. At each initial body orientation of the prey relative to the predator, our model predicts a multimodal ET with an optimal ET at the maximum Tdiff (Tdiff,1) and a suboptimal ET at a second local maximum of Tdiff (Tdiff,2). Our experiments show that when Tdiff, 1–Tdiff, 2 is negligible, the prey uses optimal or suboptimal ETs to a similar extent, in line with the idea of unpredictability. The experimentally observed ET distribution is consistent with the model, showing two large peaks at 110–130° and 170–180° away from the predator. Because various animal taxa show multiple preferred ETs similar to those observed here, this behavioral phenotype may result from convergent evolution that combines maximal Tdiff with a high level of unpredictability.Significance StatementAnimals from many taxa escape from suddenly approaching threats, such as ambush predators, by using multiple preferred escape trajectories. However, the reason why these multiple preferred escape trajectories are used is still unknown. By fitting a newly constructed model to the empirical escape response data, we show that the seemingly complex multiple preferred escape trajectories can arise from a simple geometrical rule which maximizes the time difference between when the prey enters the safety zone and when the predator reaches that entry point. Our results open new avenues of investigation for understanding how animals choose their escape trajectories from behavioral and neurosensory perspectives.

show abstract

The control of routine fish maneuvers: Connecting midline kinematics to turn outcomes

Howe

Astley

2020

J Exp Zool Pt A

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Maneuverability is an important factor in determining an animal's ability to navigate its environment and succeed in predator–prey interactions. Although fish are capable of a wide range of maneuvers, most of the literature has focused on escape maneuvers while less attention has been paid to routine maneuvers, such as those used for habitat navigation. The quantitative relationships between body deformations and maneuver outcomes (displacement of the center of mass and change in trajectory) are fundamental to understanding how fish control their maneuvers, yet remain unknown in routine maneuvers. We recorded high‐speed video of eight giant danios (Devario aquepinnatus) performing routine and escape maneuvers and quantified the deformation of the midline, the heading of the anterior body, and the kinematics of the centroid (a proxy for center of mass). We found that both routine and escape behaviors used qualitatively similar independent body bending events, which we curvature pulses, that propagate from head to tail but show quantitative differences in midline kinematics and turn outcomes. In routine maneuvers, the direction change and acceleration of the fish are influenced by both the magnitude of the bending pulse and by the duration of the pulse, whereas in escape maneuvers, only pulse duration influenced direction change and turn acceleration. The bending pulse appears to be the smallest functional unit of a turn, and can function independently or in combination, enabling a fish to achieve a wide range of complex maneuvers.

show abstract

Three-dimensional analysis of the fast-start escape response of the least killifish,Heterandria formosa

Cited by 18 publications

References 55 publications

Reorientation and propulsion in fast-starting zebrafish larvae: an inverse dynamics analysis

Reorientation and propulsion in fast-starting zebrafish larvae: an inverse dynamics analysis

Geometric model incorporating prey’s turn and predator attack endpoint explains multiple preferred escape trajectories

The control of routine fish maneuvers: Connecting midline kinematics to turn outcomes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About