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Internal Structure of a Fish School

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Abstract

Regularities of arrangement of fish in schools have been considered. In migrating isotropic schools, the internal structure is most ordered, the fish in them are oriented strictly parallel to each other, the partners are located at an equal distance and with a characteristic (rhomboid) displacement relative to each other in the horizontal plane. The location of fish in such schools is influenced by the physical forces of hydrodynamic vortices created by swimming fish (hydrodynamic wake). In isotropic schools, fish maintain a certain distance between themselves (linear distance) and a certain displacement (frontal, vertical and horizontal) relative to each other. The average density of schools varies greatly and depends on the size of fish, the swimming velocity or the flow of water to overcome, the level of illumination and other factors. In large schools, the average density of fish is higher in the center and decreases towards the periphery of a school. Fish in schools form intra-school subgroups of three to five individuals, within which fish are placed strictly in a horizontal plane, or with a slight vertical displacement. The mutual arrangement of fish in a subgroup is constantly changing, and the distance between partners is less than the distance to any individual of another subgroup. Existing data on individual spatial preferences of fish in schools has been analyzed.

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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.

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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.

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  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

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Kasumyan, A.O., Pavlov, D.S. Internal Structure of a Fish School. J. Ichthyol. 63, 1251–1263 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945223070044

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