title: Flowing water affects fish fast-starts: escape performance of the Hawaiian stream goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni.
abstract: Experimental measurements of escape performance in fishes have typically been conducted in still water; however, many fishes inhabit environments with flow that could impact escape behavior. We examined the influences of flow and predator attack direction on the escape behavior of fish, using juveniles of the amphidromous Hawaiian goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni In nature, these fish must escape ambush predation while moving through streams with high-velocity flow. We measured the escape performance of juvenile gobies while exposing them to a range of water velocities encountered in natural streams and stimulating fish from three different directions. Frequency of response across treatments indicated strong effects of flow conditions and attack direction. Juvenile S. stimpsoni had uniformly high response rates for attacks from a caudal direction (opposite flow); however, response rates for attacks from a cranial direction (matching flow) decreased dramatically as flow speed increased. Mechanical stimuli produced by predators attacking in the same direction as flow might be masked by the flow environment, impairing the ability of prey to detect attacks. Thus, the likelihood of successful escape performance in fishes can depend critically on environmental context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA kmdiamo@clemson.edu.
authors.forename: Kelly M
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8639-6795
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory, Saint Cloud State University, Saint Cloud, MN 56301, USA.
authors.forename: Heiko L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Schoenfuss
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME 04103, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Blob
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000818:Animals; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000502:physiology*; D006254:Hawaii; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D045483:Rivers; D014867:Water; D014872:Water Movements
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Acceleration; Biomechanics; Fineness ratio; Hydrodynamics; Locomotion; Predator–prey interactions