Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Size, Shape, Numbers and Composition of Fish Schools

  • Published:
Journal of Ichthyology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Data on the size and shape of fish schools, number, size, and species composition of individuals included in them have been considered. The largest schools, numbering up to hundreds of thousands of individuals or more, are formed by mass marine pelagic fish. The shape of fish schools of the same species is extremely diverse and changes rapidly, depending on the age and size of the fish, their mobility, condition, and other features. The classification of schools has been given—migrating (polarized), feeding, spherical (globular) and others. Schools can become denser or sparse, change the depth of swimming, break up and joint with neighboring ones. The variability of the linear sizes of fish schools and the number of individuals included in them reflects the high plasticity of schooling behavior and its susceptibility to the influence of various factors. Schools are characterized by high homogeneity of the species and size composition of fish and the absence of individual differences in fish. In some cases, schools may consist predominantly of female or male fish. Uniformity is the most important characteristic of fish schools and indicates assortativeness when fish unite into schools. The greatest homogeneity is characteristic of migrating schools of pelagic fish. Multi-species schools are most often formed by juvenile fish.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Kaganovskii, A.G., Composition of shoals and behavior of the Far Eastern sardine Sardinops sagax melanosticta (Temm and Schleg) in connection with oceanographic conditions, Doctoral (Biol.) Dissertation, Sverdlovsk: Moscow State Univ., 1943.

REFERENCES

  1. Abe, T., Sekiguchi, K., Onishi, H., et al., Observations on a school of ocean sunfish and evidence for a symbiotic cleaning association with albatrosses, Mar. Biol., 2012, vol. 159, no. 5, pp. 1173–1176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1873-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ajemian, M.J., Kenworthy, M.D., Sanchez-Lizaso, J.L., and Cebrian, J., Aggregation dynamics and foraging behaviour of striped red mullet Mullus murmuletus in the Western Mediterranean, J. Fish. Biol., 2016, vol. 88, no. 5, pp. 2051–2059. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12932

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Alevizon, W.S., Mixed schooling and its possible significance in a tropical Western Atlantic parrotfish and surgeonfish, Copeia, 1976, vol. 1976, no. 4, pp. 796–798. https://doi.org/10.2307/1443464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Allan, J.R. and Pitcher, T.J., Species segregation during predator evasion in cyprinid fish shoals, Freshw. Biol., 1986, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 653–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1986.tb01007.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Aronov, M.P., Some issues of studying fish behavior in connection with the technique and organization of fishing, in Izuchenie povedeniya ryb v svyazi s sovershenstvovaniem orudii lova (Study of the Behavior of Fish in Connection with the Improvement of Fishing Gear), Moscow: Nauka, 1977, pp. 9–10.

  6. Barlow, G.W., Extraspecific imposition of social grouping among surgeonfishes (Pisces, Acanthuridae), J. Zool., 1974, vol. 174, no. 3, pp. 333–340. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1974.tb03161.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bayliff, W.H., Integrity of schools of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, as determined from tagging data, Fish. Bull., 1988, vol. 86, no. 4, pp. 631–643.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Berenbeim, D.Ya., The size of schools of the Azov anchovy, Vopr. Ikhtiol., 1955, no. 5, pp. 78–80.

  9. Berwein, J.J., Beobachtungen und Versuche über das gesellige Leben von Elritzen, Z. Vergl. Physiol., 1941, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 402–420. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00297705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Breder, C.M., Studies on the structure of the fish school, Bull. AMNH, 1951, vol. 98, pp. 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Breder, C.M., Studies on social groupings in fishes, Bull. AMNH, 1959, vol. 117, no. 1, pp. 393–482.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Brown, G.A. and Colgan, P.W., Individual and species recognition in centrarchid fishes: Evidence and hypotheses, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1986, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 373–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00295711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Carvalho, C.D., Corneta, C.M., and Uieda, V.S., Schooling behavior of Mugil curema (Perciformes: Mugilidae) in an estuary in southeastern Brazil, Neotrop. Ichthyol., 2007, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 81–83. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1679-62252007000100012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Croft, D.P., Arrowsmith, B.J., Bielby, J., et al., Mechanisms underlying shoal composition in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata), Oikos, 2003a, vol. 100, no. 3, pp. 429–438. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2003.12023.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Croft, D.P., Krause, J., Couzin, I.D., and Pitcher, T.J., When fish shoals meet: Outcomes for evolution and fisheries, Fish Fish., 2003b, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 138–146. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-2979.2003.00113.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Crook, A.C., Determinants of the physiological colour patterns of juvenile parrotfish, Chlorurus sordidus, Anim. Behav., 1997, vol. 53, no. 6, pp. 1251–1261. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0444

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Cullen, J.M., Shaw, E., and Baldwin, H.A., Methods for measuring the three-dimensional structure of fish schools, Anim. Behav., 1965, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 534–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(65)90117-X

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Darkov, A.A., Behavioral reactions of schooling fishes in individuals of the same species and the question of school formation, J. Ichthyol., 1975, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 691–694.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Darkov, A.A., Ekologicheskie osobennosti zritel’noi signalizatsii ryb (Environmental Features of Visual Signaling of Fish), Moscow: Nauka, 1980.

  20. Davoren, G.K., Anderson, J.T., and Montevecchi, W.A., Shoal behavior and maturity relations of spawning capelin (Mallotus villosus) off Newfoundland: Demersal spawning and diel vertical movement patterns, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 2006, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 268–284. https://doi.org/10.1139/F05-204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Debrot, A.O. and Myrberg, A.A., Intraspecific avoidance as a proximate cause for mixed-species shoaling by juveniles of a western Atlantic surgeonfish, Acanthurus bahianus, Bull. Mar. Sci., 1988, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 104–106.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Disler, N.N., Organy chuvstv sistemy bokovoi linii i ikh znachenie v povedenii ryb (Senses of the Lateral Line System and Their Significance in the Behavior of Fish), Moscow: Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1960.

  23. Dmitrieva, E.N., On the development of the central nervous system of the perch in connection with the environment and the behavior of this fish during the larval and partly juvenile periods, in Morfo-ekologicheskii analiz razvitiya ryb (Morfo-Ecological Analysis of the Development of Fish), Moscow: Nauka, 1967, pp. 113–147.

  24. Ehrlich, P.R. and Ehrlich, A.H., Coevolution: heterospecific schooling in Caribbean reef fishes, Am. Natur., 1973, vol. 107, no. 953, pp. 157–160. https://doi.org/10.1086/282823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Farmer, N.A., Ribble, D.O., and Miller, D.G., Influence of familiarity on shoaling behaviour in Texas and blacktail shiners, J. Fish. Biol., 2004, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 776–782. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2004.00332.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Galaktionov, G.Z., Features of the schooling behavior of the splendid alfonsino Beryx splendens Lowe (Berycidae) of the thalassobathial of the Atlantic Ocean, Vopr. Ikhtiol., 1984, no. 5, pp. 78–80.

  27. Galaktionova, A.I. and Galaktionov, G.Z., Structure of the forebrain and features of schooling behavior of the rock grenadier, Coryphaenoides rupestris, of the North Atlantic ridge, J. Ichthyol., 1990, vol. 30, no. 4.

  28. Girsa, I.I., Alteration in the behavior and vertical distribution of certain juvenile cyprinids in relation to illumination intensity and the presence of a predator, J. Ichthyol., 1973, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 449–454.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Golenchenko, A.P., The study of the Azov anchovy by aerial photography, Priroda, 1956, no. 2, pp. 100–102.

  30. Hallier, J.-P., Tuna fishing on log-associated schools in the western Indian ocean: An aggregation behavior, IPTP Coll. Vol. Work Doc., 1991, no. 4, pp. 325–342.

  31. Hara, I., Shape and size of Japanese sardine school in the waters off the southeastern Hokkaido on the basis of acoustic and aerial surveys, Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish., 1985a, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 41–46. https://doi.org/10.2331/suisan.51.41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Hara, I., Moving direction of Japanese sardine school of the basis of aerial surveys, Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish., 1985b, vol. 51, no. 12, pp. 1939–1945. https://doi.org/10.2331/suisan.51.1939

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Hellier, T.R.Jr. and Hoese, H.D., Note on the schooling behavior of the striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, in Texas, Copeia, 1962, vol. 1962, no. 2, pp. 453–454. https://doi.org/10.2307/1440932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Hilborn, R., Modelling the stability of fish schools: Exchange of individual fish between schools of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1991, vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 1081–1091. https://doi.org/10.1139/f91-128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Hoare, D.J., Krause, J., Peuhkuri, N., and Godin, J.-G.J., Body size and shoaling in fish, J. Fish. Biol., 2000a, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 1351–1366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2000.tb02217.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Hoare, D.J., Ruxton, G.D., Godin, J.G.J., and Krause, J., The social organization of free-ranging fish shoals, Oikos, 2000b, vol. 89, no. 3, pp. 546–554. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.890314.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Hobson, E.S., Selective feeding by the gafftopsail pompano Trachinotus rhodopus (Gill), in mixed schools of herring and anchovies in the Gulf of California, Copeia, 1963, vol. 1963, no. 3, pp. 595–596. https://doi.org/10.2307/1441506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Hockley, F.A., Wilson, C.A.M.E., Graham, N., and Cable, J., Combined effects of flow condition and parasitism on shoaling behaviour of female guppies Poecilia reticulata, Behav. Ecol Sociobiol., 2014, vol. 68, no. 9, pp. 1513–1520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1760-5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Holubová, M., Petr Blabolil, P., Čech M., et al., Species-specific schooling behaviour of fish in the freshwater pelagic habitat: An observational study, J. Fish. Biol., 2020, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 64–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14326

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Itzkowitz, M., Social dynamics of mixed-species groups of Jamaican reef fishes, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1977, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 361–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Kaganovskii, A.G., Dal’nevostochnaya sardina (promyslovaya biologiya) (Far Eastern Sardine (Commercial Biology)), Khabarovsk: Dal’giz, 1939.

  42. Kanehiro, H., Suzuki, M., and Matuda, K., Characteristics of schooling behavior by the group size of rose bitterling in the experimental water tank, Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish., 1985, vol. 51, no. 12, pp. 1977–1982. https://doi.org/10.2331/suisan.51.1977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Keenleyside, M.H.A., Some aspects of the schooling behaviour of fish, Behaviour, 1955, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 183–247. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853955X00229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Kiselev, O.N. and Solov’ev, B.S., The results of observations of the behavior of fish from a deep-sea hydrostat, Vopr. Ikhtiol., 1961, vol. 1, no. 4 (21), pp. 745–751.

  45. Klimley, A.P. and Holloway, C.F., School fidelity and homing synchronicity of yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, Mar. Biol., 1999, vol. 133, no. 2, pp. 307–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050469

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Konstantinov, K.G., On the schooling behaviour of some bottom fish of the Northern basin, in Izuchenie povedeniya ryb v svyazi s sovershenstvovaniem orudii lova (Study of the Behavior of Fish in Connection with the Improvement of Fishing Gear), Moscow: Nauka, 1977, pp. 110–115.

  47. Krause, J., The influence of food competition and predation risk on size-assortative shoaling in juvenile chub (Leuciscus cephalus), Ethology, 1994, vol. 96, no. 2, pp. 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1994.tb00886.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Krause, J. and Godin, J.-G.J., Shoal choice in the banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus, Teleostei, Cyprinodontidae): Effects of predation risk, fish size, species composition and size of shoals, Ethology, 1994, vol. 98, no. 2, pp. 128–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1994.tb01063.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Krause, J., Godin, J.-G.J., and Brown, D., Phenotypic variability within and between fish shoals, Ecology, 1996a, vol. 77, no. 5, pp. 1586–1591. https://doi.org/10.2307/2265553

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Krause, J., Godin, J.-G.J., and Brown, D., Size-assortativeness in multi-species fish shoals, J. Fish. Biol., 1996b, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 221–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb00018.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Krause, J., Godin, J.-G.J., and Brown, D., Body length variation within multi-species fish shoals: The effects of shoal size and number of species, Oecologia, 1998, vol. 114, no. 1, pp. 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050421

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Krause, J., Hoare, D.J., Croft, D., et al., Fish shoal composition: Mechanisms and constraints, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B., 2000, vol. 267, no. 1456, pp. 2011–2017. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2000.1243

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Krotov, A.V., Some results of observations on the distribution of Pelagic fish from the aircraft, Rybn. Khoz-vo, 1938, no. 1, pp. 29–31.

  54. Kunz, H. and Hemelrijk, C.K., Simulations of the social organization of large schools of fish whose perception is obstructed, Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 2012, vol. 138, nos. 3–4, pp. 142–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2012.02.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Landeau, L. and Terborgh, J., Oddity and confusion effect in predation, Anim. Behav., 1986, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 1372–1380. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(86)80208-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Lapin, Yu.E., Girsa, I.I., Zhuravel’, V.N., and Kondrat’eva, N.M., Ecology of juveniles of two cisco species of the Kanda Bay of the White Sea, in Ekologiya ryb Belogo morya (Ecology of the White Sea Fishes), Moscow: Nauka, 1978, pp. 164–180.

  57. Losey, G.S., Crypsis and communication functions of UV-visible coloration in two coral reef damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus and D. reticulatus, Anim. Behav., 2003, vol. 66, no. 2, pp. 299–307. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2003.2214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Lutcavage, M.E., Brill, R.W., Skomal, G.B., et al., Tracking adult North Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the northwestern Atlantic using ultrasonic telemetry, Mar. Biol., 2000, vol. 137, no. 2, pp. 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270000302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Mackinson, S., Nøttestad, L., Guénette, S., et al., Cross-scale observations on distribution and behavioural dynamics of ocean feeding Norwegian spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus L.), ICES J. Mar. Sci., 1999, vol. 56, no. 5, pp. 613–626. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1999.0513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Makarchuk, N.I. and Belousov, B.I., Aerial photography of fish and sea animals, Rybn. Khoz-vo, 1953, no. 5, pp. 17–23.

  61. Makris, N.C., Ratilal, P., Symonds, D.T., et al., Fish population and behavior revealed by instantaneous continental shelf-scale imaging, Science, 2006, vol. 311, no. 5761, pp. 660–663. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1121756

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Manning, A., An Introduction to Animal Behaviour, London: Edward Arnold, 1979.

  63. Manteifel’, B.P., Ekologicheskie i evolyutsionnye aspekty povedeniya zhivotnykh (Environmental and Evolutionary Aspects of Animal Behavior), Moscow: Nauka, 1987.

  64. Manteifel’, B.P., Girsa, I.I., Leshcheva, T.S., and Pavlov, D.S., The influence of changing illumination on the formation and breakup of schools in fish, in Pitanie khishchnykh ryb i ikh vzaimootnosheniya s kormovymi organizmami (Nutrition of Predatory Fish and Their Relationship with Forage Organisms), Moscow: Nauka, 1965, pp. 83–90.

  65. Marsh, A.C. and Ribbink, A.J., Feeding schools among Lake Malawi cichlid fishes, Environ. Biol. Fish., 1986, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 75–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Matsumoto, W.M., Skillman, R.A., and Dizon, A.E., Schooling, FAO Fisheries Synopsis, 1984, vol. 136, NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS, Circular 451, pp. 46–53.

  67. McFarlad, W.N. and Kotchian, N.M., Interaction between schools of fish and mysids, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1982, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 71–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300094

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Mesyatsev, I.I., On the structure of the cod flocks, Tr. VNIRO, 1939, vol. 4, pp. 369–395.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Middlemiss, K.L., Cook, D.G., Jerrett, A.R., and Davison, W., Effects of group size on school structure and behaviour in yellow-eyed mullet Aldrichetta forsteri, J. Fish. Biol., 2018, vol. 92, no. 5, pp. 1255–1272. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13581

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Middlemiss, K.L., Cook, D.G., and Davison, W., When close neighbours become good friends: Plasticity of behavioural traits in sympatric fishes that form mono- and mixed-species groups, Mar. Freshw. Behav. Physiol., 2019, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/10236244.2019.1624168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Milanovskii, Yu.E. and Rekurbatskii, V.A., On methods of studying schooling behavior of fish, Nauch. Dokl. Vyssh. Shk. Biol. Nauki, 1960, no. 4, pp. 77–81.

  72. Misund, O.A., Aglen, A., and Frønæs, E., Mapping the shape, size, and density of fish schools by echo integration and a high-resolution sonar, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 1995, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 11–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/1054-3139(95)80011-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Misund, O.A., Fernö, A., Pitcher, T., and Totland, B., Tracking herring school with a high resolution sonar. Variations in horizontal area and relative echo intensity, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 1998, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 58–66. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1997.0228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Misund, O.A., Coetzee, J.C., Fréon, P., et al., Schooling behaviour of sardine Aardinops sagax in False Bay, South Africa, Afr. J. Mar. Sci., 2003, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 185–193. https://doi.org/10.2989/18142320309504009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Mochek, A.D., Etologicheskaya organizatsiya pribrezhnykh soobshchestv morskikh ryb (Ethological Organization of Coastal Communities of Marine Fish), Moscow: Nauka, 1987.

  76. Morgan, I.E. and Kramer, D.L., The social organization of adult blue tangs, Acanthurus coeruleus, on a fringing reef, Barbados, West Indies, Environ. Biol. Fish., 2004, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-004-0299-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  77. Morgan, I.E. and Kramer, D.L., Determinants of social organization in a coral reef fish, the blue tang, Acanthurus coeruleus, Environ. Biol. Fish., 2005, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 443–453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-004-2861-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Nechaev, I.V., Catecholaminergic regulation of social behaviour in fish, in Signal Molecules and Behaviour, Manchester; N.Y.: Manchester Univ. Press, 1991, pp. 191–198.

    Google Scholar 

  79. Nikol’skii, G.V., Ekologiya ryb (Ecology of Fishes), Moscow: Vyssh. Shk., 1974.

  80. Nøttestad, L., Aksland, M., Beltestad, A., et al., Schooling dynamics of Norwegian spring spawning herring (Clupea harengus L.) in a coastal spawning area, Sarsia, 1996, vol. 80, no. 4, pp. 277–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/00364827.1996.10413601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Nøttestad, L., Ferno, A., Mackinson, S., et al., How whales influence herring school dynamics in a cold-front area of the Norwegian Sea, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 2002, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 393–400. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.2001.1172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  82. Ogden, J.C. and Buckman, N.S., Movements, foraging groups, and diurnal migrations of the striped parrotfish Scarus croicensis Bloch (Scaridae), Ecology, 1973, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 589–596. https://doi.org/10.2307/1935344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Paijmans, K.C., Booth, D.J., and Wong, M.Y.L., Single-species subgroups form within mixed-species shoals of tropical and temperate fishes, Environ. Biol. Fish., 2022, vol. 105, no. 12, pp. 1975–1988. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01188-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  84. Paramo, J., Gerlotto, F., and Oyarzun, C., Three dimensional structure and morphology of pelagic fish schools, J. Appl. Ichthyol., 2010, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 853–860. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01509.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. Parrish, J.K., Layering with depth in a heterospecific fish aggregation, Environ. Biol. Fish., 1989, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  86. Partridge, B.L., The effect of school size on the structure and dynamics of minnow school, Anim. Behav., 1980, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 68–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(80)80009-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  87. Partridge, B.L., The structure and function of fish schools, Sci. Am., 1982, vol. 246, no. 6, pp. 114–123. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0682-114

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  88. Partridge, B.L., Pitcher, T.J., Cullen, J.M., and Wilson, J., The three-dimensional structure of fish schools, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1980, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 277–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00292770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  89. Peuhkuri, N., Size-assortative shoaling in fish: The effect of oddity on foraging behaviour, Anim. Behav., 1997, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 271–278. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0453

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  90. Peuhkuri, N., Shoal composition, body size and foraging in sticklebacks, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1998, vol. 43, nos. 4–5, pp. 333–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650050499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  91. Peuhkuri, N. and Seppä, P., do three-spined sticklebacks group with kin?, Ann. Zool. Fennici, 1998, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 21–27.

    Google Scholar 

  92. Peuhkuri, N., Ranta, E., and Seppä, P., Size-assortative schooling in free-ranging sticklebacks, Ethology, 1997, vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 318–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1997.tb00021.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  93. Pitcher, T.J. and Partridge, B.L., Fish school density and volume, Mar. Biol., 1979, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 383–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  94. Pitcher, T.J. and Parrish, B.L., Functions of shoaling behavior in teleosts, in Behaviour of Teleost Fishes, London: Chapman and Hall, 1993, pp. 262–439.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  95. Pitcher, T.J., Green, D., and Magurran, A.E., Dicing with death: Predator inspection behaviour in minnow shoals, J. Fish. Biol., 1986, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1986.tb05181.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  96. Pitcher, T.J., Misund, O.A., Fernö, A., et al., Adaptive behaviour of herring schools in the Norwegian Sea as revealed by high-resolution sonar, ICES J. Mar. Sci., 1996, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 449–452. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmsc.1996.0063

    Article  Google Scholar 

  97. Potts, G.W., The schooling ethology of Lutianus monostigma (Pisces) in the shallow reef environment of Aldabra, J. Zool., 1970, vol. 161, no. 2, pp. 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1970.tb02037.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  98. Probatov, S.N., The results of the air reconnaissance of the Caspian mullet and the possibility of fishing on the ways of migration, Rybn. Khoz-vo, 1953, no. 8, pp. 18–22.

  99. Radakov, D.V., Schooling in the Ecology of Fish, New York: John Wiley, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  100. Rangeley, R.W. and Kramer, D.L., Tidal effects on habitat selection and aggregation by juvenile pollock Pollachius virens in the rocky intertidal zone, Mar. Ecol. Proc. Ser., 1995, vol. 126, pp. 19–29. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps126019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  101. Ranta, E., Juvonen, S.K., and Peuhkuri, N., Further evidence for the size-assortative schooling in sticklebacks, J. Fish. Biol., 1992a, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 627–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1992.tb02689.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  102. Ranta, E., Lindstrom, K., and Peuhkuri, N., Size matters when three-spined sticklebacks go to school, Anim. Behav., 1992b, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 160–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80082-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  103. Ribbink, A.J., Marsh, A.C., Marsh, B., and Sharp, B.J., Parental behaviour and mixed broods among cichlid fish of Lake Malawi, S. Afr. J. Zool., 1980, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/02541858.1980.11447677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  104. Robertson, D.R., Sweatman, H.P.A., Fletcher, E.A., and Cleland, M.G., Schooling as a mechanism for circumventing the territoriality of competitors, Ecology, 1976, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 1208–1220. https://doi.org/10.2307/1935045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  105. Sackley, P.G. and Kaufman, L.S., Effect of predation on foraging height in a planktivorous coral reef fish, Chromis nitida, Copeia, 1996, vol. 1996, no. 3, pp. 726–729. https://doi.org/10.2307/1447539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  106. Safran, P., Drifting seaweed and associated ichthyofauna: Floating nursery in the Tohoku waters, La mer, 1990, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 225–239.

    Google Scholar 

  107. Safran, P. and Omori, M., Some ecological observation on fishes associated with drifting seaweed off Tohoku Coast, Japan, Mar. Biol., 1990, vol. 105, no. 3, pp. 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01316310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  108. Sakakura, Y. and Tsukamoto, K., Age composition in the schools of juvenile yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata associated with drifting seaweeds in the East China Sea, Fish. Sci., 1997, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 37–41. https://doi.org/10.2331/fishsci.63.37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  109. Schäfe, W., Über das Verhalten von Junger Herings– schwärmen im Aquarium, Arch. Fischereiwiss., 1955, vol. 6, nos. 5/6, pp. 276–287.

    Google Scholar 

  110. Shaw, E., The schooling of fishes, Sci. Am., 1962, vol. 206, no. 6, pp. 128–141. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0662-128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  111. Shaw, E., Schooling fishes: The school, a truly egalitarian form of organization in which all members of the group are alike in influence, offers substantial benefits to its participants, Am. Sci., 1978, vol. 66, no. 2, pp. 166–175.

    Google Scholar 

  112. Smith, P.E., Fisheries on coastal pelagic fish, in Marine Fish Larvae: Morphology, Ecology, and Relation to Fisheries, Seattle: Univ. Washington. Press, 1981, pp. 1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  113. Soin, S.G., Kasumyan, A.O., and Pashchenko, N.I., Ecological and morphological analysis of the development of the minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus (Cyprinidae), J. Ichthyol., 1981, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 90–105.

    Google Scholar 

  114. Squire, J.L., Northern anchovy school shapes as related to problems in school size estimation, Fish. Bull., 1978, vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 443–448.

    Google Scholar 

  115. Tanasiichuk, V.S., On the biology of bream, Tr. Volgo-Kasp. Nauch. Rybokhoz. St., 1947, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 115–137.

    Google Scholar 

  116. Theodorakis, C.W., Size segregation and the effects of oddity on predation risk in minnow schools, Anim. Behav., 1989, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 496–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(89)80042-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  117. Tikhonov, V.N., On the migration and behavior of large horse mackerel in the Black Sea, Tr. VNIRO, 1958, vol. 36, pp. 52–61.

    Google Scholar 

  118. Tokarev, A.K., The behavior of the Azov anchovy and the exploration of its clusters in the Black Sea, Rybn. Khoz-vo, 1953, no. 5, pp. 12–17.

  119. Tokarev, A.K., On biological and hydrodynamic sounds made by fish, Tr. VNIRO, 1958, vol. 36, pp. 272–279.

    Google Scholar 

  120. Trevorrow, M.V. and Claytor, R.R., Detection of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) schools in shallow waters using high-frequency sidescan sonars, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1998, vol. 55, no. 6, pp. 1419–1429. https://doi.org/10.1139/f98-042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  121. Van Havre, N. and Fitzgerald G.J., Shoaling and kin recognition in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.), Biol. Behav., 1988, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 190–201.

    Google Scholar 

  122. Vine, P.J., Effects of algal grazing and aggressive behavior of the fishes Pomacentrus lividus and Acanthurus sohal on coral reef ecology, Mar. Biol., 1974, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  123. Ward, A.J.W., Botham, M.S., Hoare, D.J., et al., Association patterns and shoal fidelity in the three-spined stickleback, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B., 2002, vol. 269, no. 1508, pp. 2451–2455. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  124. Ward, A.J.W., Kent, M.I.A., and Webster, M.M., Social recognition and social attraction in group-living fishes, Front. Ecol. Evol., 2020, vol. 8, Article 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  125. Welsh, J.Q. and Bellwood, D.R., How far do schools of roving herbivores rove? A case study using Scarus rivulatus, Coral Reefs, 2012, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 991–1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0922-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  126. Wolf, N.G., Odd fish abandon mixed-species groups when threatened, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1985, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  127. Wolf, N.G., Schooling tendency and foraging benefit in the ocean surgeonfish, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 1987, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 59–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00324436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  128. Zuyev, G.V. and Belyayev, V.V., An experimental study of the swimming of fish in groups as exemplified by the Horsemackerel [Trachurus mediterraneus ponticus Aleev], J. Ichthyol., 1970, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 545–549.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors express their sincere gratitude to A.A. Kazhlaev and L.S. Alekseeva (Moscow State University), who provided great assistance in preparing the article for publication. The authors are sincerely grateful to P.I. Kirillov (Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences) for careful and constructive editing of the text and illustrations, which improved the quality of the article.

Funding

The article was prepared within the framework of scientific projects of the state assignment of the Moscow State University No. 121032300100-5 and the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences No. 121122300056-3 in the Unified State Information System for Accounting the Results of Civil Research, Development and Technological Works.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    A. O. Kasumyan

  2. Severtsov Institute of Problems of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Science (IPEE RAS), Moscow, Russia

    D. S. Pavlov

Authors
  1. A. O. Kasumyan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. S. Pavlov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. O. Kasumyan.

Ethics declarations

ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The author of this work declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Translated by S. Avodkova

Publisher’s Note.

Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kasumyan, A.O., Pavlov, D.S. Size, Shape, Numbers and Composition of Fish Schools. J. Ichthyol. 63, 1234–1250 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945223070032

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945223070032

Keywords:

Search

Navigation