Details - Orientation and jumping behavior in the gobiid fish Bathygobius soporator

Orientation and jumping behavior in the gobiid fish Bathygobius soporator

Title

Orientation and jumping behavior in the gobiid fish Bathygobius soporator

Title Variants

Alternative: Behavior in Bathygobius soporator

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 1486

By

Aronson, Lester R. (Lester Ralph), 1911-1996

Lerner Marine Laboratory.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, American Museum of Natural History, [1951]

Notes

Title from caption.

"January 17, 1951."

"Study was conducted at the Lerner Marine Laboratory of the American Museum of Natural History at Bimini, British West Indies."

"A preliminary field study of the jumping behavior of the tide-pool gobiid fish Bathygobius soporator revealed that, except for certain unusual circumstances, these fish are so well oriented before jumping that they always land safely in a neighboring pool or in the open water. The conditions are such that the fish could not possibly see the neighboring pools before leaping. Various factors that might contribute to this orientation were examined and eliminated. These included (1) orientation to the open water, to the original outlet, or to a notch or similar configuration in the rim of the pool; (2) the position of the sun or shadows cast by the sun; (3) trial and error learning of the jumps. As a working hypothesis it is suggested that these gobies swim over the tide pools at high tide and acquire an effective memory of the general features of the topography of a limited area around the home pool which they are able to utilize when locked in their pools at low tide"--P. 20-21.