[Coral-List] Why do fish swim upside down in caves?

Mon Feb 8 09:38:41 EST 2016

When I took my first class in Coral Reef Ecology back in 1978 this was a
topic of great interest.

I pulled this reference out of my required reading list from that course.
It may answer a lot of these questions.

Meyer, D.L., Heiligenberg, W. and Bullock, T.H., 1976. The ventral
substrate response - A new postural control mechanism in fishes. *Journal
of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral
Physiology*, *109*(1), pp.59-68.

"Some fishes show a tendency to orient their ventral side towards a
substrate and may thus tilt considerably when swimming near vertical walls
or even under the ceiling of caves. This behavior was named the*Ventral
Substrate Response (VSR)* and was quantitatively studied in the black
croaker (*Cheilotrema saturnum*, Sciaenidae) and in the weakly electric
fish *Eigenmannia* sp. (Rhamphichthyidae)..."

Hope this helps!

cheers,

Bill

On Fri, Feb 5, 2016 at 2:26 PM, Magnus Johnson <m.johnson at hull.ac.uk> wrote:

> I remember talking to Mike Land on the RRS Discovery about some
> mesopelagic amphipods he had been looking at.  The assumption was that
> their bilobed eye was an adaption for the differences in light
> quality/quantity depending on whther you looked up or down.  The ventral
> portion of the eye was apparently adapted for dim environments while the
> dorsal was adapted for vertically downwelling light.  It all made perfect
> sense (and was seen for example in mesopelagic decapods).  However when he
> observed the animals in a tank he thought that they were  sometimes using
> the dorsal portion of their eye to scan (as we might with our fovea) and
> swam in all sorts of orientations.  Shaun Collin did lots of interesting
> work on the retinae of reef and deep sea teleosts and found that the foveal
> geography reflected their lifestyle.
>
> So my guess would be that fish can swim upside-down as easily as the
> "right way" around and their eyes will be adapted to a particular
> orientation with respect to the "bottom" (as suggested below).  Whatever,
> "Ecovisiology" is very cool!
>
> Collin S, Partridge J (1996) Fish Vision: Retinal specializations in the
> eyes of deep-sea teleosts. J Fish Biol 49:157–174.
> Johnson M, Shelton P, Gaten E, Herring P (2000) Relationship of
> dorsoventral eyeshine distributions to habitat depth and animal size in
> mesopelagic decapods. Biol Bull 199:6–13.
> Land MF (2009) Locomotion and visual behaviour of mid-Water crustaceans. J
> Mar Biol Assoc United Kingdom 72:41. doi: 10.1017/S0025315400048773
>
> ________________________________________
> From: BRUCE CARLSON [exallias2 at gmail.com]
> Sent: 04 February 2016 19:58
> To: psammarco at lumcon.edu
> Cc: Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Why do fish swim upside down in caves?
>
> I think of it this way:  if I’m lying on the floor, I have a very hard
> time eating if I’m on my back; roll over and it’s easy to eat.  OK, that’s
> not quite the same as this situation, but perhaps for the grouper there is
> a greater efficiency feeding if your ventral side stays oriented towards
> the substratum, especially if you’re a carnivore feeding on fish that might
> pop out of the holes.  I can’t quite imagine how they would feed
> efficiently with their back to the rock.   Other larger groupers that may
> not feed on little fish in holes would be better off just remaining in the
> “normal” orientation.
>
> Just guessing.
> Bruce
>
>
> > On Feb 4, 2016, at 5:25 AM, Paul Sammarco <psammarco at lumcon.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Charles,
> >
> > Hello.  This is all a guessing game, but my suspicion is that the
> phenomenon may be a combination of two things.  Firstly, where is direct or
> reflected light coming from?  Which way is it light, and which way is it
> dark?  Also, perhaps it's also a matter of looking dorsally for predators..
> They should certainly know which way is up and which way is down.
> >
> > Food for thought.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Paul
> >
> > Paul W. Sammarco, Ph.D.
> > Professor
> > Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON)
> > 8124 Hwy. 56
> > Chauvin, LA  70344-2110
> >
> > 1-985-851-2876 (tel)
> > 1-985-851-2874 (FAX)
> > 1-985-232-6575 (Cell)
> > psammarco at lumcon.edu
> > www.lumcon.edu
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
> coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Charles Delbeek
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2016 3:22 PM
> > To: Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > Subject: [Coral-List] Why do fish swim upside down in caves?
> >
> > Our exhibit design consultant asked me this question concerning
> Cephalopholis polleni.
> >
> > My thoughts were that since these fish are bottom oriented they feel
> more secure with something on their ventral surface, I also believe they
> can see more what is ahead and below them where most predators come from
> for bottom oriented fish?? Also when a fish swims into a cave or overhang
> they are swimming down a reef face and coming across the opening so it is
> safer to remain oriented to the rock face then twisting and turning as they
> enter to cave/crevice. Also the shelter holes are in the ceiling so it is
> easier to dart into them when it is below them then above their line of
> sight, but I am just guessing on these.
> >
> > Anyone have something more definitive on this?
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> >
> > *J. Charles Delbeek, M.Sc. *Assistant Curator, Steinhart Aquarium
> California Academy of Sciences
> >
> > Desk: 415.379.5303
> > Fax: 415.379.5304
> >
> >
> > *cdelbeek at calacademy.org <cdelbeek at calacademy.org> *www.calacademy.org
> >
> > 55 Music Concourse Dr.
> >
> > Golden Gate Park
> >
> > San Francisco CA 94118
> >
> >
> >
> > Discover nature’s secret language in *Color of Life*, a dazzling new
> exhibit—now open.
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> BRUCE CARLSON
> exallias2 at gmail.com
> BCarlson at GeorgiaAquarium.org
>
> Carbon-dioxide concentrations hit their highest level in 4m years <
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577342-carbon-dioxide-concentrations-hit-their-highest-level-4m-years-measure&ct=ga&cad=CAEQAhgAIAAoATAAOABAg-SwjAVIAVAAWABiBWVuLVVT&cd=i9IW-ZD9Lxc&usg=AFQjCNFYqbjH-5nMF6If2GtXM1bbeZhjNQ
> >
> The Economist <x-msg://267/>
>
> AT NOON on May 4th, 2013, the carbon-dioxide concentration in the
> atmosphere around the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii hit 400 parts per
> million (ppm).
>
>
>
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