Abstract
Understanding the movement patterns of fishes in the wild requires an awareness of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors underlying their behaviour. Using field observations, we explored whether eight species of coral reef fish display modality in their swimming behaviour, which is a convergence in fin use patterns among and within species when they conduct daily activities (e.g. feeding, travelling, chasing). While a range of different fins were used during steady swimming by each species, most fishes converged towards median-paired fin use (e.g. pelvics, pectorals) when undertaking searching and feeding. Conversely, all species adopted caudal fin use during high-speed activities such as chasing. Such modality in fin use was relatively conserved across juvenile and adult conspecifics and transcended differences in phylogenetic history and trophic preferences, suggesting that overarching constraints underpin patterns of fish swimming behaviour in complex habitats.
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Acknowledgments
Our study was conducted at Jiigurru in the traditional sea country of the Dingaal people. We thank W. Townshend and Lizard Island Research Station staff for field assistance, H.-J. Yoon for statistical advice, the Australian Research Council (CJF) for funding, M. Noble for illustrations, C. Layton, M. Peck and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Conducted with approval of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and ANU Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee.
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Communicated by M. A. Peck.
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Pink, J.R., Fulton, C.J. Right tools for the task: intraspecific modality in the swimming behaviour of coral reef fishes. Mar Biol 161, 1103–1111 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2403-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2403-0