Visual cues eliciting the feeding reaction of a planktivorous fish swimming in a current

The visual plankivorous feeding behaviour of the shiner perch (Cymatogaster aggregata) was investigated by means of a flow tank operated at various current speeds. Artemia salina was used as prey. In a second set of experiments, Artemia was darkened with black ink, to compare the visually mediated behaviour of C. aggregata while feeding on dark prey vs feeding on natural (i.e. semi-transparent) prey. The positions of the fish and its prey at the time of the feeding reaction of C. aggregata were measured in three dimensions. Prey were on average closer and more in line with the fish's axis when feeding reactions to darkened Artemia were considered, in comparison with natural Artemia. Three potential mechanisms triggering the feeding reaction of C. aggregata were explored: the prey may trigger a reaction in C. aggregata when it reaches a threshold (1) angular size, (2) angular velocity, or (3) rate of change of the angular size (i.e. loom) of the prey as it is carried passively by the current towards the fish. Our results show that angular velocity may trigger the fish's reaction when using semi-transparent prey, while loom may trigger the reaction to darkened prey. This suggests that feeding behaviour of planktivorous fish is flexible and can use different cues to trigger a motor reaction to prey with different visual characteristics. The feeding reaction appeared to occur at longer distances for semi-transparent rather than darkened Artemia. We suggest that semi-transparent Artemia were visible at greater distances because of their higher scattering (i.e. diffuse reflectance) that made them appear brighter when viewed against a dark background.