Schooling fish switched the neighbor guiding their movements about 2.8 times a second in a virtual reality experiment, offering new insight into how they stay in sync.
To investigate coordinated movements in fish, researchers chose the rummy-nose tetras (Hemigrammus rhodostomus) for the study, a species known for its schooling behavior.
Using a closed-loop virtual reality system, real tetras interacted with digital fish that the researchers could control. The projector cast these images of virtual fish on the walls of a 52.2-centimeter bowl containing 15 liters of water. A depth camera tracked the real fish’s movement in three dimensions.
“Collective motion in animal groups emerges from local interactions, yet how individuals select and integrate social information remains poorly understood,” the researchers said.
Investigating schooling behavior
Researchers programmed virtual fish to respond to their one, two, or four most influential neighbors. They conducted eight one-hour experiments for each setup.
The team comparedswimming speeds, distances between individuals, alignment, spatial organization, and turning behavior.
They found that coordination increased when the virtual fish responded to more neighbors, the researchers stated in the study.
“Groups became more cohesive, fish trajectories became smoother, and departures of the real fish from the virtual subgroup became less frequent.”
Although the virtual schools became more cohesive when the programmed fish responded to more neighbors, however analyses showed the real fish behaved as if it primarily tracked a single influential neighbor.
More from Science
See AllScienceA mathematical property gives quantum skyrmions an unexpected survival advantageScienceScientists show how graphene could be used to build solar cells without siliconScienceInvisible light cracks 60-year-old quantum puzzle in superconductor whirlpoolsScienceWorld’s fastest compact X-rays let US team capture atomic changes in trillionths of a secondScienceEinstein’s equations hint gravity can break, reconnect like magnetic fields: US study“The turning statistics provide a clear behavioral indicator that the dynamics of the real fish are best explained when it responds to a single most influential neighbor.”
And this neighbor wasn’t always the closest fish either.
Influential neighbors switch as they swim
The most influential neighbor changed as thefishmoved in sync. Researchers recorded an average switching frequency of about 2.8 times per second.
Roughly 40 changes occurred between two consecutive spontaneous U-turns.
“…Influential-neighbor switching reflects the continuous spatial reorganization of the group rather than periods of sustained leadership by particular individuals.”
Fish coordinate their movements through changing interactions rather than relying on one leader.
“Social influence is continuously redistributed as individuals move relative to one another, generating a rapidly evolving interaction network that nevertheless supports robust collective coordination,” the researchers said.
Unlike the previous perspective, coordination doesn’t necessarily require integrating information from many neighbors simultaneously.
Limitations of virtual reality
The researchers acknowledged limitations in their experimental approach.
Although thevirtual fishresponded visually to the movements of the real fish, they did not generate water movements or pressure disturbances.
Researchers explained that fish are known to rely on multiple sensory pathways, such as vision, hydrodynamic cues, and pressure sensing through the lateral line system when coordinating their movements within schools.
However, in the virtual-reality set up, the digital fish could only be perceived visually because they don’t generate water movements and pressure disturbances, which would need to be addressed in later experiments.
In the future, the team would like to conduct their experiment on larger groups with the missing conditions built into the model. The results suggest the fish coordinated through continuously changing interactions rather than following a fixed leader.
The research findings werepublishedinPRX Life.
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Maria MocerinoOriginally from LA, Maria Mocerino has been published in Business Insider, The Irish Examiner, The Rogue Mag, Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, and now Interesting Engineering.
- 1Next US stealth drone could stay airborne for over two days without refueling
- 2Hotter than the Sun: Why fusion reactors need such high temperatures
- 3This giant iron-air battery can store renewable energy for 100 hours using rust
- 4China showcases world's first catapult-capable drone carrier; stealth UAV completes takeoff, landing
- 5US Navy eyes Super Intelligence to balance its massive 10,100-ton SSN(X) submarine
Schooling fish switched the neighbor guiding their movements about 2.8 times a second in a virtual reality experiment, offering new insight into how they stay in sync.
To investigate coordinated movements in fish, researchers chose the rummy-nose tetras (Hemigrammus rhodostomus) for the study, a species known for its schooling behavior.
Using a closed-loop virtual reality system, real tetras interacted with digital fish that the researchers could control. The projector cast these images of virtual fish on the walls of a 52.2-centimeter bowl containing 15 liters of water. A depth camera tracked the real fish’s movement in three dimensions.
“Collective motion in animal groups emerges from local interactions, yet how individuals select and integrate social information remains poorly understood,” the researchers said.
Investigating schooling behavior
Researchers programmed virtual fish to respond to their one, two, or four most influential neighbors. They conducted eight one-hour experiments for each setup.
The team comparedswimming speeds, distances between individuals, alignment, spatial organization, and turning behavior.
They found that coordination increased when the virtual fish responded to more neighbors, the researchers stated in the study.
“Groups became more cohesive, fish trajectories became smoother, and departures of the real fish from the virtual subgroup became less frequent.”
Although the virtual schools became more cohesive when the programmed fish responded to more neighbors, however analyses showed the real fish behaved as if it primarily tracked a single influential neighbor.
More from Science
See AllScienceA mathematical property gives quantum skyrmions an unexpected survival advantageScienceScientists show how graphene could be used to build solar cells without siliconScienceInvisible light cracks 60-year-old quantum puzzle in superconductor whirlpoolsScienceWorld’s fastest compact X-rays let US team capture atomic changes in trillionths of a secondScienceEinstein’s equations hint gravity can break, reconnect like magnetic fields: US study“The turning statistics provide a clear behavioral indicator that the dynamics of the real fish are best explained when it responds to a single most influential neighbor.”
And this neighbor wasn’t always the closest fish either.
Influential neighbors switch as they swim
The most influential neighbor changed as thefishmoved in sync. Researchers recorded an average switching frequency of about 2.8 times per second.
Roughly 40 changes occurred between two consecutive spontaneous U-turns.
“…Influential-neighbor switching reflects the continuous spatial reorganization of the group rather than periods of sustained leadership by particular individuals.”
Fish coordinate their movements through changing interactions rather than relying on one leader.
“Social influence is continuously redistributed as individuals move relative to one another, generating a rapidly evolving interaction network that nevertheless supports robust collective coordination,” the researchers said.
Unlike the previous perspective, coordination doesn’t necessarily require integrating information from many neighbors simultaneously.
Limitations of virtual reality
The researchers acknowledged limitations in their experimental approach.
Although thevirtual fishresponded visually to the movements of the real fish, they did not generate water movements or pressure disturbances.
Researchers explained that fish are known to rely on multiple sensory pathways, such as vision, hydrodynamic cues, and pressure sensing through the lateral line system when coordinating their movements within schools.
However, in the virtual-reality set up, the digital fish could only be perceived visually because they don’t generate water movements and pressure disturbances, which would need to be addressed in later experiments.
In the future, the team would like to conduct their experiment on larger groups with the missing conditions built into the model. The results suggest the fish coordinated through continuously changing interactions rather than following a fixed leader.
The research findings werepublishedinPRX Life.
Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.
By subscribing, you agree to our
Terms of Useand
PoliciesYou may unsubscribe at any time.
0
COMMENT
Subscribe to
Today!
Access to exclusive content, expert insights and a deeper dive into engineering and tech. No ads, no limits.
Explore Now!By
Maria MocerinoOriginally from LA, Maria Mocerino has been published in Business Insider, The Irish Examiner, The Rogue Mag, Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, and now Interesting Engineering.
- 1Next US stealth drone could stay airborne for over two days without refueling
- 2Hotter than the Sun: Why fusion reactors need such high temperatures
- 3This giant iron-air battery can store renewable energy for 100 hours using rust
- 4China showcases world's first catapult-capable drone carrier; stealth UAV completes takeoff, landing
- 5US Navy eyes Super Intelligence to balance its massive 10,100-ton SSN(X) submarine
