Flip or flop? Behavioral response to stranding in fish representing six teleost orders

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Comparative Physiology
• Ecology

Background:

• Aquatic and amphibious fishes display varied behaviors when stranded on land, including tail-flip jumps.
• Previous research focused on jump performance, but less is known about the diversity of terrestrial behaviors in teleosts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and categorize the diverse behaviors of seven teleost species stranded on land.
• To explore the relationship between air-breathing ability and terrestrial locomotion strategies in fishes.

Main Methods:

• Seven fish species were manually stranded in a terrestrial arena for two-minute trials.
• Behavioral variables including jumps, flops, displacement, latency, and time moving were quantified from video recordings.
• Principal components analysis was used to define distinct "behavioral spaces."

Main Results:

• Four distinct behavioral patterns were identified: effective displacement with high movement, less effective displacement with high movement, less effective displacement with low movement, and effective displacement with low movement.
• The ability to breathe air appears to predict the duration of movement when stranded.
• Air-breathing fishes exhibited a "wait and see" strategy, while non-air-breathers moved frequently.

Conclusions:

• Fish terrestrial locomotion strategies are influenced by their respiratory physiology.
• Air-breathing capacity is a key factor determining how fishes behave when out of water.
• Understanding these behaviors offers insights into fish adaptation and survival strategies in terrestrial environments.