spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online June 29, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2713-2725 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02315
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in JEB
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Higham, T. E.
Right arrow Articles by Wainwright, P. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Higham, T. E.
Right arrow Articles by Wainwright, P. C.

Multidimensional analysis of suction feeding performance in fishes: fluid speed, acceleration, strike accuracy and the ingested volume of water

Timothy E. Higham1,*, Steven W. Day2 and Peter C. Wainwright1

1 Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, 76 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623-5604, USA

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: tehigham{at}ucdavis.edu)

Accepted 3 May 2006

Suction feeding fish draw prey into the mouth using a flow field that they generate external to the head. In this paper we present a multidimensional perspective on suction feeding performance that we illustrate in a comparative analysis of suction feeding ability in two members of Centrarchidae, the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). We present the first direct measurements of maximum fluid speed capacity, and we use this to calculate local fluid acceleration and volumetric flow rate. We also calculated the ingested volume and a novel metric of strike accuracy. In addition, we quantified for each species the effects of gape magnitude, time to peak gape, and swimming speed on features of the ingested volume of water. Digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) and high-speed video were used to measure the flow in front of the mouths of three fish from each species in conjunction with a vertical laser sheet positioned on the mid-sagittal plane of the fish. From this we quantified the maximum fluid speed (in the earthbound and fish's frame of reference), acceleration and ingested volume. Our method for determining strike accuracy involved quantifying the location of the prey relative to the center of the parcel of ingested water. Bluegill sunfish generated higher fluid speeds in the earthbound frame of reference, accelerated the fluid faster, and were more accurate than largemouth bass. However, largemouth bass ingested a larger volume of water and generated a higher volumetric flow rate than bluegill sunfish. In addition, because largemouth bass swam faster during prey capture, they generated higher fluid speeds in the fish's frame of reference. Thus, while bluegill can exert higher drag forces on stationary prey items, largemouth bass more quickly close the distance between themselves and prey. The ingested volume and volumetric flow rate significantly increased as gape increased for both species, while time to peak gape had little effect on the volume. However, peak gape distance did not affect the maximum fluid speed entering the mouth for either species. We suggest that species that generate high fluid speeds in the earthbound frame of reference will commonly exhibit small mouths and a high capacity to deliver force to buccal expansion, while species that ingest a large volume of water and generate high volumetric flow rates will have larger buccal cavities and cranial expansion linkage systems that favor displacement over force delivery.

Key words: volume, Centrarchidae, Lepomis, Micropterus, swimming, ram, kinematics, prey capture, feeding, DPIV, ingested volume, accuracy, suction feeding, performance


Related articles in JEB:

SHAPING SUCKERS' MOUTHS
Kathryn Phillips
JEB 2006 209: iii. [Full Text]  



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
W. J. Van Trump and M. J. McHenry
The morphology and mechanical sensitivity of lateral line receptors in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio)
J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2008; 211(13): 2105 - 2115.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
C. D. Marshall, K. M. Kovacs, and C. Lydersen
Feeding kinematics, suction and hydraulic jetting capabilities in bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus)
J. Exp. Biol., March 1, 2008; 211(5): 699 - 708.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
R. Holzman, S. W. Day, and P. C. Wainwright
Timing is everything: coordination of strike kinematics affects the force exerted by suction feeding fish on attached prey
J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2007; 210(19): 3328 - 3336.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Integr. Comp. Biol.Home page
C. D. Wilga, P. J. Motta, and C. P. Sanford
Evolution and ecology of feeding in elasmobranchs
Integr. Comp. Biol., July 1, 2007; 47(1): 55 - 69.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Integr. Comp. Biol.Home page
P. Wainwright, A. M. Carroll, D. C. Collar, S. W. Day, T. E. Higham, and R. A. Holzman
Suction feeding mechanics, performance, and diversity in fishes
Integr. Comp. Biol., July 1, 2007; 47(1): 96 - 106.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Integr. Comp. Biol.Home page
T. E. Higham
The integration of locomotion and prey capture in vertebrates: Morphology, behavior, and performance
Integr. Comp. Biol., July 1, 2007; 47(1): 82 - 95.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
R. S. Mehta and P. C. Wainwright
Biting releases constraints on moray eel feeding kinematics
J. Exp. Biol., February 1, 2007; 210(3): 495 - 504.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
T. E. Higham
Feeding, fins and braking maneuvers: locomotion during prey capture in centrarchid fishes
J. Exp. Biol., January 1, 2007; 210(1): 107 - 117.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
T. E. Higham, S. W. Day, and P. C. Wainwright
The pressures of suction feeding: the relation between buccal pressure and induced fluid speed in centrarchid fishes
J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2006; 209(17): 3281 - 3287.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Exp. Biol.Home page
K. Phillips
SHAPING SUCKERS' MOUTHS
J. Exp. Biol., July 15, 2006; 209(14): iii - iii.
[Full Text] [PDF]




© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006