Conserved behavioral circuits govern high-speed decision-making in wild fish shoals
Abstract
To survive, animals must quickly detect and respond to predators. However, the rules wild animals use to translate sensory cues into evasion decisions remain largely unknown. We developed an automated system to present visual threat stimuli to mixed-species groups of foraging fish in a coral reef. Using hundreds of stimulus presentations to fish from nine families, we show that escape decisions are governed by a conserved set of decision-making rules that transform sensory input into evasive actions. Our methodology allows us to quantitatively analyze these rules, revealing both how they map onto previously studied neural circuits and how they function under dynamic natural conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 12, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1809140115
Entities
People
- Andrew M. Hein
- Colin R Twomey
- Iain Couzin
- Michael Gil
- Simon A. Levin
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- James S. McDonnell Foundation
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
- Max Planck Society
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Princeton University
- Simons Foundation
- University of California
- University of Konstanz
- University of Pennsylvania