The behavior of fundulus, with especial reference to overland escape from tide-pools and locomotion on land.

Mast, S. O.

doi:10.1037/h0075747

Cited by 29 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…They will not leave their tide pool if they are translocated into a new area that they have never inspected during high tide (Aronson 1951(Aronson , 1956. A similar escape behaviour from tide pools has been described by Mast (1915) for Fundulus, a cyprinodont fish.…”

Section: Spatial Memorysupporting

confidence: 54%

Fish cognition: a primate's eye view

Bshary

Wickler²,

Fricke³

2001

Anim.Cogn.

245

166

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We provide selected examples from the fish literature of phenomena found in fish that are currently being examined in discussions of cognitive abilities and evolution of neocortex size in primates. In the context of social intelligence, we looked at living in individualised groups and corresponding social strategies, social learning and tradition, and co-operative hunting. Regarding environmental intelligence, we searched for examples concerning special foraging skills, tool use, cognitive maps, memory, anti-predator behaviour, and the manipulation of the environment. Most phenomena of interest for primatologists are found in fish as well. We therefore conclude that more detailed studies on decision rules and mechanisms are necessary to test for differences between the cognitive abilities of primates and other taxa. Cognitive research can benefit from future fish studies in three ways: first, as fish are highly variable in their ecology, they can be used to determine the specific ecological factors that select for the evolution of specific cognitive abilities. Second, for the same reason they can be used to investigate the link between cognitive abilities and the enlargement of specific brain areas. Third, decision rules used by fish could be used as 'null-hypotheses' for primatologists looking at how monkeys might make their decisions. Finally, we propose a variety of fish species that we think are most promising as study objects.

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Section: Spatial Memorysupporting

confidence: 54%

Fish cognition: a primate's eye view

Bshary

Wickler²,

Fricke³

2001

Anim.Cogn.

245

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many teleost fishes that live at the water's edge, such as the killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes), will leap out of the water to evade predators (Bayliss, '82) or escape poor water conditions (Mast, '15), voluntarily stranding themselves on land. Although such nonamphibious fishes must quickly return to the water or risk dying from asphyxiation or desiccation, most killifishes are fully aquatic and have no apparent morphological specializations of the postcranial skeleton to facilitate movement on land (Parenti, '93).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish out of water: terrestrial jumping by fully aquatic fishes

et al. 2011

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Many teleosts that live at the water's edge will voluntarily strand themselves to evade predators or escape poor conditions-this behavior has been repeatedly observed in the field for killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes). Although most killifishes are considered fully aquatic and possess no obvious morphological specializations to facilitate terrestrial locomotion, individuals from several different species have been observed moving across land via a "tail flip" behavior that generates a terrestrial jump. Like aquatic fast starts, terrestrial jumps are produced by high-curvature lateral flexion of the body (stage one), followed by contralateral flexion of the posterior body (stage two). Here, terrestrial jumps and aquatic fast starts are quantified for two littoral teleosts: Gambusia affinis (a killifish, Cyprinodontiformes) and Danio rerio (a small carp, Cypriniformes) to determine if the tail flip is produced by other (non-killifish) teleosts and to test the null hypothesis that the tail flip is a fast start behavior, performed on land. Both Danio and Gambusia produce tail flip-driven terrestrial jumps, which are kinematically distinct from aquatic escapes and characterized by (1) a prolonged stage one, during which the fish bends, lifting and rolling the center of mass over the caudal peduncle, and (2) a relatively brief stage two, wherein the caudal peduncle pushes against the substrate to launch the fish into the aerial phase. The ability of these fully aquatic fishes to employ the same structure to produce distinct kinematic patterns in disparate environments suggests that a new behavior has evolved to facilitate movement on land and that anatomical novelty is not a prerequisite for effective terrestrial locomotion.

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“…Under light conditions that mimicked daylight, mummichogs ( Fundulus heteroclitus ) preferentially moved towards the body of water at one end of the experimental arena. Mast () demonstrated that Fundulus majalis have the ability to navigate on land to return to water, but he did not suggest that fish orient toward the reflection of light off the water. While Mast () observed F. majalis successfully navigating from a tidepool, over a sandbar, into the ocean, it was possible that these fish had memorized their habitat during high tide, like the intertidal gobiid species described by Aronson (), and used a mental map to navigate to the ocean.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because these pools are stagnant and often exposed to intense sunlight, they can quickly become hypoxic, develop high concentrations of salt and waste, or dry up completely; all of these conditions will create a physiologically challenging environment for fishes (Martin and Bridges, ; Taylor et al, ). Because tidepools may disappear or become inhospitable, many intertidal fishes display adaptations for surviving brief periods out of water, including the ability to navigate between bodies of water (Mast, ; Goodyear, ; Aronson, ), locomote on land (Gibb et al, ; King et al, ; Gibb et al, ), and extract oxygen from the air (Hughes and Singh, ; Gervais and Tufts, ; Martin and Bridges, ; Ong et al, ). These adaptations make intertidal fishes ideal subjects for experiments that investigate behavioral, sensory, and locomotor strategies for surviving on land.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mangrove rivulus can survive on land for weeks at a time in a moist environment (Ong et al, ; Taylor et al, ). In addition, killifishes and livebearing cyprinodontiform fishes (e.g., Gambusia affinis ) can perform terrestrial jumps (Gibb et al, ; Mast, ) and will use jumping and other behaviors to move over land from one body of water to another (Mast, ; Goodyear, ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Look before you leap: Visual navigation and terrestrial locomotion of the intertidal killifish Fundulus heteroclitus

2015

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Mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus; Cyprinodontiformes) are intertidal killifish that can breathe air and locomote on land. Our goals were to characterize the terrestrial locomotion of mummichogs and determine their method of navigation towards water in a terrestrial environment. We used high-speed video to record behavior during stranding experiments and found that mummichogs use a tail-flip jump to move overland, similarly to other Cyprinodontiformes. However, mummichogs also prop themselves upright into a prone position between each jump, a previously undescribed behavior. After becoming prone, mummichogs rotate about their vertical axis, directing the caudal fin towards the water. Then, they roll back onto their lateral aspect and use a tail-flip behavior to leap into a caudally-directed, ballistic flight path. We conducted experiments to determine the sensory stimulus used to locate a body of water by placing mummichogs on a square platform with one side adjacent to a sea table. Under artificial light, mummichogs moved towards the sea table with a higher frequency than towards the other sides. Under dark conditions, mummichogs did not show a preference for moving towards the sea table. When the surface of the water was covered with reflective foil, mummichogs moved towards it as if it were a body of water. These results suggest that mummichogs primarily use visual cues, specifically reflected light, to orient towards the water. The uprighting behavior that mummichogs perform between terrestrial jumps may provide an opportunity for these fish to receive visual information that allows them to safely return to the water. J. Exp. Zool. 325A:57-64, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

show abstract

The behavior of fundulus, with especial reference to overland escape from tide-pools and locomotion on land.

Cited by 29 publications

References 0 publications

Fish cognition: a primate's eye view

Fish cognition: a primate's eye view

Fish out of water: terrestrial jumping by fully aquatic fishes

Look before you leap: Visual navigation and terrestrial locomotion of the intertidal killifish Fundulus heteroclitus

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