Meeting Abstract
Terrestrial locomotion is a common behavior observed in littoral fishes that can be used to avoid predation or move between aquatic habitats. When stranded, some fishes are capable of producing a coordinated, stereotyped behavior, termed the tail-flip jump, while others “flop” and fail to produce directed movements We conducted stranding trials in which individuals representing seven species of teleost fish were artificially stranded on a damp substrate on land. Following stranding, we filmed the behavioral response for two minutes. Based on the jump distance produced by the fish (relative to body length) and how often they moved during the two minutes, fish were categorized as effective (long jumps) vs. ineffective (short “flops”) and active (many movements) vs. inactive (few movements). Following the stranding trials, individuals representing these species were then placed respirometer to measure their terrestrial oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. Somewhat surprisingly, that the ability to breathe air did not predict jumping performance (as quantified by jump distance). However, fishes that cannot respire air are more active while stranded (that is, they produce more frequent movements) on land, while fishes that can respire air are relatively inactive while stranded. These findings suggest that the ability to breathe air is not related to terrestrial locomotor performance and is likely not required for the evolution of terrestriality in many lineages.
