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September 4, 2014
Cell Press
Archerfish hunt by shooting jets of water at unsuspecting prey on leavesor twigs above, knocking them into the water below before gobblingthem up. Now, a study finds that those fish are much more adaptableand skillful target-shooters than anyone had given them credit for. Thefish really do use water as a tool making them the first known tool-usinganimal to adaptively change the hydrodynamic properties of a free jet ofwater.
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Credit: Ingo Rischawy (Schuster lab, University ofBayreuth)
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A
Archerfish target their prey with jets of water.
rcherfish hunt by shooting jets of water at unsuspecting insects,spiders, or even small lizards on leaves or twigs above, knocking theminto the water below before gobbling them up. Now, a study in the Cell
Press journal Current Biology on September 4 finds that those fish are muchmore adaptable and skillful target-shooters than anyone had given themcredit for. The fish really do use water as a tool, the researchers say, makingthem the first known tool-using animal to adaptively change the hydrodynamicproperties of a free jet of water.
It's rather easy to see the usefulness of theirimpressive skill.
"The predominant impression from our field work inThailand over several years is that there is very littleto actually shoot at, so it's important for the fish to beefficient," says Stefan Schuster of the University ofBayreuth in Germany. "It pays to be able topowerfully hit prey over a wide range of distances."
Schuster and Peggy Gerullis made the discovery by
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Cell Press. "Archerfish target shoot with 'skillfully thrown' water." ScienceDaily.
first training fish to hit targets ranging in height from20 to 60 centimeters from a precise location. Theythen monitored various aspects of jet production andpropagation as the fish did their thing.
Those studies showed that the time needed beforewater masses up at the jet tip isn't fixed. Rather,archerfish make adjustments to ensure that a nice drop of water forms just beforeimpact. Surprisingly, the researchers report, the fish achieve this by modulating thedynamics of changes in the cross-section of their mouth opening. The timingadjustments that archerfish must make to powerfully hit their targets over an extendedrange are surprisingly comparable to the "uniquely human" ability of powerful throwing,the researchers write.
"One of the last strongholds of human uniqueness is our ability to powerfully throwstones or spears at distant targets," Schuster says. "This is really an impressivecapability and requires -- among many fascinating aspects -- precise time control ofmovement. It is believed that this ability has forced our brains to become bigger,housing many more neurons to afford the precision. With the many neurons around,they could be used for other tasks apart from applying them for powerful throws. It isremarkable that the same line of reasoning could also be applied to archerfish."
It's possible that the mechanism the fish use to control water with such precisionmight also find application in human-built nozzles, he adds, noting that adjustable jetsare big business in many industries, including medicine.
"The biggest problem is how to modify the abrasive properties of a jet," Schuster says."Usually this is done by modulating the release pressure or by varying the abrasivesadded to the jet. We are not aware of someone actually using a dynamicallyadjustable valve."
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The above story is based on materials provided by Cell Press. Note: Materials may beedited for content and length.
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1. Peggy Gerullis, Stefan Schuster. Archerfish Actively Control theHydrodynamics of Their Jets. Current Biology, 2014 DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.059
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