Flat ocean fish2/29/2024 Slowing down the fishes’ motion meant they could see things the human eye would otherwise miss. The researchers made the high-speed video recordings as the fish moved across the bottom of the tanks. “These questions included whether flatfishes use their median fins to move along the substrate what patterns of fin movement are used to generate these behaviors and ultimately, is benthic walking in flatfishes a previously undescribed vertebrate gait?” “We used some innovative technologies and methods during our field work at Friday Harbor Laboratories to help us investigate our research questions,” said Gibb. To conduct the study, the scientists collected more than 30 individual flatfishes representing six different species-Pacific Sand Sole, English Sole, Starry Flounder, Slender Sole, Butter Sole and Rock Sole-from Puget Sound and held them in seawater tanks. Innovative technologies, methods help scientists investigate how animals interact with their environments As they rest on the ocean floor, they can use their dorsal and anal fins to ‘walk’ without stirring up the substrate or creating pressure waves that could alert predators or potential prey to their movements. Many flatfish predators, such as Pacific halibut, are economically important as seafood.Īs adults, flatfishes lie on one side on the bottom of the ocean and survey the surrounding environment with eyes that protrude from their upward-facing side. The study, recently published in Zoology, was featured in National Geographic because of its novel approach to research.įlatfish are a remarkably successful group: there are nearly 800 different species, such as flounder, halibuts and sole. NAU professor of biology Alice Gibb is co-author of the paper written by a field station collaborator, Claire Fox, now a doctoral student at Cornell. A new study using high-speed video analysis reveals surprising findings about how flatfish use their fins to “walk” across the ocean floor.
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