How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey

P. Domenici; A.D.M. Wilson; R.H.J.M. Kurvers; S. Marras; J.E. Herbert-Read; John Fleng Steffensen; S. Krause; P.E. Viblanc; P. Couillaud; J. Krause

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

How sailfish use their bills to capture schooling prey

P. Domenici, A.D.M. Wilson, R.H.J.M. Kurvers, S. Marras, J.E. Herbert-Read, John Fleng Steffensen, S. Krause, P.E. Viblanc, P. Couillaud, J. Krause

Marine Biology

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Journal	Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume	281
Issue number	1784
Number of pages	7
ISSN	0962-8452
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0444
Publication status	Published - 23 Apr 2014

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10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1784/20140444.abstract

Cite this

@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",

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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 - 2014/4/23

Y1 - 2014/4/23

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.

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DO - 10.1098/rspb.2014.0444

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JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

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