Injury-mediated decrease in locomotor performance increases predation risk in schooling fish.
J Krause, J E Herbert-Read, F Seebacher, P Domenici, A D M Wilson, S Marras, M B S Svendsen, D Strömbom, J F Steffensen, S Krause, P E Viblanc, P Couillaud, P Bach, P S Sabarros, P Zaslansky, R H J M Kurvers
Author Information
J Krause: Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany j.krause@igb-berlin.de. ORCID
J E Herbert-Read: Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. ORCID
F Seebacher: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. ORCID
P Domenici: IAMC-CNR, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano, Italy. ORCID
A D M Wilson: Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany. ORCID
S Marras: IAMC-CNR, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano, Italy.
M B S Svendsen: Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark. ORCID
D Strömbom: Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
J F Steffensen: Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark.
S Krause: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, 23562 Lübeck, Germany. ORCID
P E Viblanc: Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
P Couillaud: Département de la Licence Sciences et Technologies, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
P Bach: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 248 MARBEC, Ob7, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France.
P S Sabarros: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 248 MARBEC, Ob7, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France. ORCID
P Zaslansky: Julius Wolff Institute for Biomechanics and Musculoskeletal Regeneration, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Haus 11, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
R H J M Kurvers: Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany.
The costs and benefits of group living often depend on the spatial position of individuals within groups and the ability of individuals to occupy preferred positions. For example, models of predation events for moving prey groups predict higher mortality risk for individuals at the periphery and front of groups. We investigated these predictions in sardine () schools under attack from group hunting sailfish () in the open ocean. Sailfish approached sardine schools about equally often from the front and rear, but prior to attack there was a chasing period in which sardines attempted to swim away from the predator. Consequently, all sailfish attacks were directed at the rear and peripheral positions of the school, resulting in higher predation risk for individuals at these positions. During attacks, sailfish slash at sardines with their bill causing prey injury including scale removal and tissue damage. Sardines injured in previous attacks were more often found in the rear half of the school than in the front half. Moreover, injured fish had lower tail-beat frequencies and lagged behind uninjured fish. Injuries inflicted by sailfish bills may, therefore, hinder prey swimming speed and drive spatial sorting in prey schools through passive self-assortment. We found only partial support for the theoretical predictions from current predator-prey models, highlighting the importance of incorporating more realistic predator-prey dynamics into these models.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'.
