Meeting Abstract
Larval fish must detect and evade attacking fish predators to survive the ambush. The visual system is key to predator sensing in fish, but it is unclear how fish interpret visual stimuli to plan a successful escape. Essentially, what is the fish escape strategy and how does visual information feed into this strategy? To decipher this escape strategy, we used a robotic-fish predator to approach larval zebrafish (Danio rerio), while high-speed cameras recorded their escape responses in 3D. Larval zebrafish were able to detect and escape away from the fish predator. We modeled the visual stimulus presented by the predator from the larva’s perspective using a visual model. By relating observed escape direction with respect to the direction of the predator’s appearance, we determined that the larval zebrafish escape strategy is not sensitive to the predator’s approach angle. Instead, the results imply that larvae use a “binary” escape strategy, where they escape roughly 90° to either their left or right side. This suggests that the visual escape strategy is a basic scheme to avoid fish predators. This conclusion brings to question if this is the best strategy larval zebrafish could implement or are there constrictions prevent larvae escaping in a move advantageous manner.
