Meeting Abstract

80.3  Monday, Jan. 6 10:45  The fast start in larval zebrafish creates 3D maneuvers NAIR, A. M.*; MCHENRY, M. J.; Univ. of California, Irvine; Univ. of California, Irvine amnair@uci.edu

The fish fast start is a classic escape response where the body curls into a “C” shape and then rapidly unfurls to accelerate the body. Although this motion is generally described as planar, our recent experiments have observed that larval zebrafish (Danio rerio, 5-7 dpf) evade predators by executing the fast start in three dimensions. With interests in the motor control and strategic implications of this motion, we measured detailed kinematics of the fast start of larval zebrafish in 3D. We determined the euler angles of the head (roll, pitch and yaw) and the tail shape (curvature, torsion, and twist) throughout the whole escape response. We observed two categories of escape responses: lateral-directed and ventral-directed. During a ventral-directed response, larvae positioned their head downwards while curling the body (i.e. stage 1). In contrast, zebrafish larvae did not alter head elevation until after the body had begun to unfurl (i.e. stage 2) when performing a lateral-directed fast start. Moreover, ventral-directed maneuvers had a greater change in angular elevation of the head and a greater twisting and pitching of the tail compared to lateral-directed responses. Therefore, larval zebrafish exhibit contrasting tail kinematics according to the elevation of the motion. This ability may enhance survival and appears to require a more sophisticated motor control system than previously appreciated.