Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Collecting Marine Gnathiid Isopod Fish Parasites with Light Traps
Published on: September 25, 2023
Collective gradient sensing in fish schools
James G Puckett1, Aawaz R Pokhrel2, Julia A Giannini2
1Department of Physics, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325, USA. jpuckett@gettysburg.edu.
Abstract:
Throughout the animal kingdom, animals frequently benefit from living in groups. Models of collective behaviour show that simple local interactions are sufficient to generate group morphologies found in nature (swarms, flocks and mills). However, individuals also interact with the complex noisy environment in which they live. In this work, we experimentally investigate the group performance in navigating a noisy light gradient of two unrelated freshwater species: golden shiners (Notemigonuscrysoleucas) and rummy nose tetra (Hemigrammus bleheri). We find that tetras outperform shiners due to their innate individual ability to sense the environmental gradient. Using numerical simulations, we examine how group performance depends on the relative weight of social and environmental information. Our results highlight the importance of balancing of social and environmental information to promote optimal group morphologies and performance.
Related Concept Videos
Osmoregulation in Fishes
What is an Electrochemical Gradient?
The chemical gradient relies on differences in the abundance of a substance on the outside versus the inside of a cell and flows from areas of high to low ion concentration. In contrast, the electrical gradient revolves around an...
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Introduction to Special Senses
Tactile and Chemical Senses
Energy Line and Hydraulic Gradient Line

