Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026
08:43
Boldness, Aggression, and Shoaling Assays for Zebrafish Behavioral Syndromes
Published on: August 29, 2016
10.9K
Inferring collective behaviour from a fossilized fish shoal
Nobuaki Mizumoto1, Shinya Miyata2, Stephen C Pratt1
11 School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University , ISTB1, 423, East Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287-9425 , USA.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|May 30, 2019
Summary
Fossilized fish, Erismatopterus levatus, show evidence of collective motion using simple social rules like repulsion and attraction. This suggests fish shoaling behavior evolved by the Eocene, offering insights into extinct animal communication.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Animal Behavior
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Collective motion in animal groups arises from simple individual interaction rules.
- Studies on extant species reveal coordinated group behavior, but evolutionary origins and extinct organisms' rules are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate collective motion and infer behavioral rules in a fossilized group of extinct fish, Erismatopterus levatus.
- To explore the evolutionary history of fish shoaling behavior and its potential fossil record.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a fossilized group of Erismatopterus levatus for evidence of coordinated motion.
- Inference of social interaction rules (repulsion and attraction) based on fossil structure.
- Computer simulations to reproduce fossilized group structures using inferred behavioral rules.
Main Results:
- Fossilized Erismatopterus levatus exhibited group-level structures indicative of collective motion, including oblong shape and high polarization.
- Inferred behavioral rules, similar to extant fish (repulsion and attraction), successfully reproduced these fossilized structures in simulations.
- Evidence suggests fish have used simple behavioral rules for shoaling since at least the Eocene.
Conclusions:
- The study provides evidence for coordinated collective motion in extinct fish, suggesting ancient origins for shoaling behavior.
- Simple behavioral rules for social interaction appear conserved in fish shoaling over evolutionary timescales.
- This research opens avenues for studying social communication and behavior in extinct animals through fossil evidence.
Related Concept Videos
02:56The Fossil Record
27.2K
The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...
27.2K
02:32Osmoregulation in Fishes
53.0K
When cells are placed in a hypotonic (low-salt) fluid, they can swell and burst. Meanwhile, cells in a hypertonic solution—with a higher salt concentration—can shrivel and die. How do fish cells avoid these gruesome fates in hypotonic freshwater or hypertonic seawater environments?
53.0K
01:15Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
500
Correspondent inference theory, proposed by Jones and Davis in 1965, seeks to explain how individuals infer stable personality traits from observed behaviors. It suggests that people attribute actions to underlying dispositions rather than external circumstances, particularly when the behavior appears intentional and socially significant.Voluntary Behavior and Dispositional AttributionAccording to this theory, individuals are more likely to attribute behavior to personal traits when it appears...
500
01:16Statistical Inference Techniques in Hypothesis Testing: Parametric Versus Nonparametric Data
466
Statistical inference techniques, paramount in hypothesis testing, differentiate into two broad categories: parametric and nonparametric statistics.
Parametric statistics, as the name suggests, assumes that data follow a specific distribution, often a normal distribution. This assumption enables robust hypothesis testing and estimation. Parametric methods, like the Student's t-test or Goodness-of-fit test, are frequently employed in biostatistics due to their robustness. For instance,...
Parametric statistics, as the name suggests, assumes that data follow a specific distribution, often a normal distribution. This assumption enables robust hypothesis testing and estimation. Parametric methods, like the Student's t-test or Goodness-of-fit test, are frequently employed in biostatistics due to their robustness. For instance,...
466
01:29Data Collection II
9.6K
The nursing history captures and records the patient's health status, so that a care plan evolves to meet the patient's individual needs. The nursing health history is a part of the initial assessment. A comprehensive history covers all health dimensions and plays a significant role in the assessment process. A comprehensive history includes the patient's biographical information, reasons for seeking health care, expectations, present and past health history, medications, and...
9.6K
02:07FISH - Fluorescent In-situ Hybridization
24.1K
Fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH, was developed in the early 1980s and has quickly become one of the most widely used techniques in cytogenetics. Labeled probes are used to bind complementary DNA or RNA sequences on a chromosome or in a region within a cell. Earlier, the probes could only be obtained by cloning or reverse transcription of a DNA template. Currently, the probe oligonucleotides can be synthesized synthetically. Additionally, with the advancement of optical techniques,...
24.1K