Directed Motion in the Sea: Efficient Swimming by Reef Fish Larvae

✍ Scribed by PAUL R. ARMSWORTH

• Book ID: 102613377
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 352 KB
• Volume: 210
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5193
• DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.2001.2299

✦ Synopsis

Directed motion of marine organisms is examined with a focus on e$cient behaviour, where e$cient swimming minimizes either energetic expenditure or transit time. The swimming behaviour of late pelagic stage reef "sh larvae is modelled to illustrate relevant concepts. To swim e$ciently in the sea, an organism should exploit current-driven movements of the medium. Favourable currents should be ridden and unfavourable currents avoided. Relatively short movements to control advection can have a greater e!ect than longer swimming bouts used for independent horizontal locomotion. If larvae exploit the vertical structure of the water column, then the extent to which they can in#uence their dispersal will be substantially increased.