Meeting Abstract

S1-3.1  Friday, Jan. 4  Vision versus electrosense: Mechanics and sensing in prey capture behavior in larval zebrafish compared to electric knifefish PATTERSON, B.W.; ABRAHAM, A.; MCLEAN, D.; PATANKAR, N.A.; MACIVER, M.A.*; Northwestern University maciver@northwestern.edu

We have collected motion capture data on a non-visual hunter, the weakly electric knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) as well as a visual hunter, the larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) during prey capture behavior. Kinematic analyses have provided a detailed picture of how both fish hunt their prey. We have also analyzed their biomechanics through a combination of computational fluid dynamics, particle imaging velocimetry, and biomimetic robotics. What do these distinctively different animals and prey, differing in size by two orders of magnitude and using very different sensory systems, tell us about the biomechanics and sensory constraints of prey capture? I’ll talk about a few of the emerging lessons, highlighting differences between the sensory volumes and mechanics of these two fish.