How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey. / Domenici, P.; Wilson, A.D.M.; Kurvers, R.H.J.M.; Marras, S.; Herbert-Read, J.E.; Steffensen, John Fleng; Krause, S.; Viblanc, P.E.; Couillaud, P.; Krause, J.

In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 281, No. 1784, 2014.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Domenici, P, Wilson, ADM, Kurvers, RHJM, Marras, S, Herbert-Read, JE, Steffensen, JF, Krause, S, Viblanc, PE, Couillaud, P & Krause, J 2014, 'How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 281, no. 1784. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

APA

Domenici, P., Wilson, A. D. M., Kurvers, R. H. J. M., Marras, S., Herbert-Read, J. E., Steffensen, J. F., Krause, S., Viblanc, P. E., Couillaud, P., & Krause, J. (2014). How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1784). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

Vancouver

Domenici P, Wilson ADM, Kurvers RHJM, Marras S, Herbert-Read JE, Steffensen JF et al. How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2014;281(1784). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

Author

Domenici, P. ; Wilson, A.D.M. ; Kurvers, R.H.J.M. ; Marras, S. ; Herbert-Read, J.E. ; Steffensen, John Fleng ; Krause, S. ; Viblanc, P.E. ; Couillaud, P. ; Krause, J. / How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2014 ; Vol. 281, No. 1784.

Bibtex

@article{8908f8b0f28845d6a6eb5ab3b6078761,
title = "How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey",
abstract = "The istiophorid family of billfishes is characterized by an extended rostrum or {\textquoteleft}bill{\textquoteright}. While various functions (e.g. foraging and hydrodynamic benefits) have been proposed for this structure, until now no study has directly investigated the mechanisms by which billfishes use their rostrum to feed on prey. Here, we present the first unequivocal evidence of how the bill is used by Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) to attack schooling sardines in the open ocean. Using high-speed video-analysis, we show that (i) sailfish manage to insert their bill into sardine schools without eliciting an evasive response and (ii) subsequently use their bill to either tap on individual prey targets or to slash through the school with powerful lateral motions characterized by one of the highest accelerations ever recorded in an aquatic vertebrate. Our results demonstrate that the combination of stealth and rapid motion make the sailfish bill an extremely effective feeding adaptation for capturing schooling prey.",
author = "P. Domenici and A.D.M. Wilson and R.H.J.M. Kurvers and S. Marras and J.E. Herbert-Read and Steffensen, {John Fleng} and S. Krause and P.E. Viblanc and P. Couillaud and J. Krause",
year = "2014",
doi = "10.1098/rspb.2014.0444",
language = "English",
volume = "281",
journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences",
issn = "0962-8452",
publisher = "The Royal Society Publishing",
number = "1784",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey

AU - Domenici, P.

AU - Wilson, A.D.M.

AU - Kurvers, R.H.J.M.

AU - Marras, S.

AU - Herbert-Read, J.E.

AU - Steffensen, John Fleng

AU - Krause, S.

AU - Viblanc, P.E.

AU - Couillaud, P.

AU - Krause, J.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - The istiophorid family of billfishes is characterized by an extended rostrum or ‘bill’. While various functions (e.g. foraging and hydrodynamic benefits) have been proposed for this structure, until now no study has directly investigated the mechanisms by which billfishes use their rostrum to feed on prey. Here, we present the first unequivocal evidence of how the bill is used by Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) to attack schooling sardines in the open ocean. Using high-speed video-analysis, we show that (i) sailfish manage to insert their bill into sardine schools without eliciting an evasive response and (ii) subsequently use their bill to either tap on individual prey targets or to slash through the school with powerful lateral motions characterized by one of the highest accelerations ever recorded in an aquatic vertebrate. Our results demonstrate that the combination of stealth and rapid motion make the sailfish bill an extremely effective feeding adaptation for capturing schooling prey.

AB - The istiophorid family of billfishes is characterized by an extended rostrum or ‘bill’. While various functions (e.g. foraging and hydrodynamic benefits) have been proposed for this structure, until now no study has directly investigated the mechanisms by which billfishes use their rostrum to feed on prey. Here, we present the first unequivocal evidence of how the bill is used by Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) to attack schooling sardines in the open ocean. Using high-speed video-analysis, we show that (i) sailfish manage to insert their bill into sardine schools without eliciting an evasive response and (ii) subsequently use their bill to either tap on individual prey targets or to slash through the school with powerful lateral motions characterized by one of the highest accelerations ever recorded in an aquatic vertebrate. Our results demonstrate that the combination of stealth and rapid motion make the sailfish bill an extremely effective feeding adaptation for capturing schooling prey.

U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

DO - 10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 24759865

VL - 281

JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

SN - 0962-8452

IS - 1784

ER -

ID: 108529363