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Optimal movement and motor capacity in a short-range aquatic predator
by
Claire Postlethwaite
University of Houston
Coauthors: Tiffany M. Psemeneki, Jangir Selimkhanov, Mary Silber, Malcolm A. MacIver
The black ghost knifefish `Apteronotus albifrons' makes fast reactive strikes at prey that it detects with its weak electric field and electrosensory system. Prey are detected at short range throughout an omnidirectional sensory volume around the body. Following detection, the body is rapidly reoriented to bring the mouth to the position of the prey. Because of the short range of detection and need for rapid movements in many directions, constraints due to the dynamics and mechanics of fish swimming are likely to play a significant role in determining the behaviour. Here we examine mechanically optimal trajectories for an idealised fish body moving in an inviscid fluid, and compare these with measured prey capture trajectories. We present evidence that the measured fish trajectories are close to those of the idealised fish moving to minimise effort. This is particularly notable given that the idealised fish is able to move with all possible linear and rotational degrees of freedom while the real fish is not able to do so.
Date received: May 6, 2008
Copyright © 2008 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cawd-56.