What is it about?

This study explores how the swirling water trails (hydrodynamic wakes) left by swimming fish influence the movement and organization of large fish schools. Traditional models of fish schooling mainly consider social behaviors like attraction and alignment, but they often ignore the effects of water flow. Our research introduces a new model that combines physics-based hydrodynamics with social interactions, providing a more realistic view of how fish interact with each other and their environment. By using high-resolution computer simulations, we show that wake-induced water forces can help fish schools stay organized, especially when social forces are weak. The results suggest that hydrodynamics play a critical role in shaping fish school structures, which has implications for understanding natural fish behavior and designing bio-inspired robotic systems.

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Why is it important?

Understanding fish schooling is not only essential for marine biology but also has broader applications in fields like robotics, environmental science, and collective behavior modeling. Many previous studies have focused primarily on social interactions in schooling fish, overlooking the role of hydrodynamic forces. Our study fills this gap by integrating detailed hydrodynamics into schooling models, revealing that water flow patterns actively shape how fish move and self-organize. This work is particularly timely as advancements in bio-inspired robotics increasingly rely on principles of fish locomotion for designing underwater drones and autonomous vehicles. Additionally, the findings can contribute to ecological studies on fish populations and conservation efforts by improving predictions of schooling behavior in different environmental conditions.

Perspectives

For me, this research was a fascinating opportunity to bridge two fields—fluid dynamics and animal behavior—into a single framework. The complexity of fish schooling has always intrigued me, and through this study, I gained deeper insights into how water flows play a fundamental role in shaping collective movement. One of the most exciting aspects of this project was seeing how small changes in hydrodynamic wake structures led to significant shifts in schooling patterns. These findings challenge the conventional view that fish primarily rely on visual or social cues, showing that fluid interactions can be just as crucial. I hope this work inspires future research to explore even more detailed hydrodynamic effects in animal group dynamics and engineering applications.

Ji Zhou
Johns Hopkins University

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This page is a summary of: Effect of hydrodynamic wakes in dynamical models of large-scale fish schools, Physics of Fluids, January 2025, American Institute of Physics,
DOI: 10.1063/5.0250013.
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