The Suction Feeding Mechanism in Sunfishes (Lepomis): An Experimental Analysis

1980 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE V. LAUDER
Keyword(s):  
Negative Pressure ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Positive Phase ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Pressure Reduction ◽  
Hydrodynamic Models ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Pressure Magnitude

The process of prey capture by inertial suction was studied in three species of sunfishes (Lepomis auritus, L. macrochirus, and L. gibbosus) by the simultaneous recording of buccal and opercular cavity pressures in order to test current hydrodynamic models of feeding in fishes. Synchronous high-speed films permitted the correlation of kinematic patterns of jaw bone movement with specific pressure waveforms. Opercular cavity pressures averaged onefifth buccal pressures and pressure magnitude was correlated with prey type. Peak buccal and opercular pressures were −650 cm H2O and −150 cm H2O respectively; peak rate of pressure change was −100 cm H2O/ms. Buccal pressure magnitude varied inversely with degree of predator satiation. Opercular pressure waveforms have an initial positive phase followed by a prolonged negative phase and then a final positive phase. The initial positive pressure may be absent during slow strikes at worms. Buccal pressure waveforms show considerable variability. The modal waveform consists of a sharp negative pressure pulse followed by a positive phase and finally by another pressure reduction. Delayed opercular abduction relative to mouth cavity compression correlates with the presence of a positive buccal phase. The second buccal negative pressure is the result of rapid mouth closing causing a pressure reduction (water hammer effect) as water flow continues posteriorly. These data indicate that (1) the buccal and opercular cavities are functionally separated by a gill curtain of high resistance, (2) that inertial effects of water are important in the description of the suction feeding process, (3) that a reverse flow of water (opercular to buccal cavity) may occur during the early phase of mouth opening prior to establishment of a buccal to opercular flow regime, and (4) current models of respiratory pressure and flow pattern cannot be applied to feeding. Current hydrodynamic models of suction feeding in fishes are re-evaluated in the light of this analysis.

scholarly journals The benefits of planar circular mouths on suction feeding performance

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (73) ◽  
pp. 1767-1773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Skorczewski ◽  
Angela Cheer ◽  
Peter C. Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Peak Flow ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Enhance Efficiency ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Hydrodynamic Effects

Suction feeding is the most common form of prey capture across aquatic feeding vertebrates and many adaptations that enhance efficiency and performance are expected. Many suction feeders have mechanisms that allow the mouth to form a planar and near-circular opening that is believed to have beneficial hydrodynamic effects. We explore the effects of the flattened and circular mouth opening through computational fluid dynamics simulations that allow comparisons with other mouth profiles. Compared to mouths with lateral notches, we find that the planar mouth opening results in higher flow rates into the mouth and a region of highest flow that is positioned at the centre of the mouth aperture. Planar mouths provide not only for better total fluid flow rates through the mouth but also through the centre of the mouth near where suction feeders position their prey. Circular mouths are shown to provide the quickest capture times for spherical and elliptical prey because they expose the prey item to a large region of high flow. Planar and circular mouths result in higher flow velocities with peak flow located at the centre of the mouth opening and they maximize the capacity of the suction feeders to exert hydrodynamic forces on the prey.

scholarly journals Feeding mechanics and bite force modelling of the skull of Dunkleosteus terrelli , an ancient apex predator

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip S.L Anderson ◽  
Mark W Westneat
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Biomechanical Model ◽  
Bite Force ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Linkage Mechanism ◽  
Feeding Mechanics ◽  
Four Bar Linkage

Placoderms are a diverse group of armoured fishes that dominated the aquatic ecosystems of the Devonian Period, 415–360 million years ago. The bladed jaws of predators such as Dunkleosteus suggest that these animals were the first vertebrates to use rapid mouth opening and a powerful bite to capture and fragment evasive prey items prior to ingestion. Here, we develop a biomechanical model of force and motion during feeding in Dunkleosteus terrelli that reveals a highly kinetic skull driven by a unique four-bar linkage mechanism. The linkage system has a high-speed transmission for jaw opening, producing a rapid expansion phase similar to modern fishes that use suction during prey capture. Jaw closing muscles power an extraordinarily strong bite, with an estimated maximal bite force of over 4400 N at the jaw tip and more than 5300 N at the rear dental plates, for a large individual (6 m in total length). This bite force capability is the greatest of all living or fossil fishes and is among the most powerful bites in animals.

Variation in the feeding kinematics of mole salamanders (Ambystomatidae: Ambystoma)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Beneski Jr. ◽  
John H. Larsen Jr. ◽  
Brian T. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
General Increase ◽  
Feeding Kinematics ◽  
High Speed Cinematography ◽  
Mode A ◽  
General Reduction

High-speed cinematography was used to investigate the prey-capture kinematics of six species of mole salamanders (Ambystomatidae). We compared the feeding behavior of the subgenus Ambystoma (A. californiense and A. macrodactylum) with that of the subgenus Linguaelapsus (A. mabeei, A. texanum, A. annulatum, and A. cingulatum). Prey capture by all six species is characterized by a 3-part gape cycle (a period of rapid mouth opening prior to extraoral tongue protraction, followed by a period of relatively stable gape angle during extraoral tongue protraction and retraction, followed by a period of rapid mouth closure), a tongue-extension cycle (protraction and retraction), and anterior head–body displacement. Among the six species, two distinct modes of prey capture are evident: (1) the Ambystoma mode (A. californiense, A. macrodactylum, A. mabeei, and A. texanum), and (2) the Linguaelapsus mode (A. annulatum and A. cingulatum). Most differences in prey-capture kinematics between the two modes are primarily differences of degree rather than the addition or loss of unique behaviors, and include a general reduction in the gape angles and a general increase in the elapsed times associated with specific events in the Linguaelapsus mode. We hypothesize that these differences are primarily the result of a prolonged period of tongue protraction in the Linguaelapsus mode during which the glandular tongue pad is fitted to the prey. In addition to differing from each other, the gape profiles of the ambystomatid subgenera differ markedly from the 4-part gape profiles of plethodontids and salamandrids.

scholarly journals Hydrodynamic regime drives flow reversals in suction feeding larval fishes during early ontogeny

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishnamoorthy Krishnan ◽  
Asif Shahriar Nafi ◽  
Roi Gurka ◽  
Roi Holzman
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Sparus Aurata ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Hydrodynamic Regime ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Larval Fishes

AbstractFish larvae are the smallest self-sustaining vertebrates. As such, they face multiple challenge that stem from their minute size, and from the hydrodynamic regime in which they dwell. This regime of intermediate Reynolds numbers (Re) was shown to affect the swimming of larval fish and impede their ability to capture prey. Numerical simulations indicate that the flow fields external to the mouth in younger larvae result in shallower spatial gradients, limiting the force exerted on the prey. However, observations on feeding larvae suggest that failures in prey capture can also occur during prey transport, although the mechanism causing these failures is unclear. We combine high-speed videography and numerical simulations to investigate the hydrodynamic mechanisms that impede prey transport in larval fishes. Detailed kinematics of the expanding mouth during prey capture by larval Sparus aurata were used to parameterize age-specific numerical models of the flows inside the mouth. These models reveal that, for small larvae that slowly expand their mouth, not all the fluid that enters the mouth cavity is expelled through the gills, resulting in flow reversal at the mouth orifice. This efflux at the mouth orifice was highest in the younger ages, but was also high (>8%) in slow strikes produced by larger fish. Our modeling explains the observations of “in-and-out” events in larval fish, where prey enters the mouth but is not swallowed. It further highlights the importance of prey transport as an integral part in determining suction feeding success.

scholarly journals Prey Capture Hydrodynamics in Fishes: Experimental Tests of Two Models

1983 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE V. LAUDER
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Regression Line ◽  
Lepomis Macrochirus ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Relative Magnitude ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Mouth Cavity ◽  
Large Pressure ◽  
Key Aspects

Three experimental modifications of the feeding mechanism in the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque: Centrarchidae) were performed to distinguish between two alternative hydrodynamic models of the high-speed suction-feeding process in fishes. These two models make different predictions about the change in slope of the regression line representing the relationship between buccal and opercular cavity pressures, and the three experiments provide a critical test of the models. The results from all three tests unequivocally support (1) the concept of the gill bars as a resistant element within the mouth cavity functionally dividing it into buccal and opercular cavities, (2) the negligible role of lateral movement of the gill cover (operculum) in generating negative mouth cavity pressures, and (3) the large pressure differentials previously reported between the buccal and opercular cavities. Measured pressures conform neither in relative magnitude nor waveform with pressures predicted from theoretical mathematical models. Inertial effects and accelerational flows are key aspects of high-speed suction feeding.

scholarly journals Biomechanics and hydrodynamics of prey capture in the Chinese giant salamander reveal a high-performance jaw-powered suction feeding mechanism

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (82) ◽  
pp. 20121028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Egon Heiss ◽  
Nikolay Natchev ◽  
Michaela Gumpenberger ◽  
Anton Weissenbacher ◽  
Sam Van Wassenbergh
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cranial Morphology ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Mechanical Constraints ◽  
Terrestrial Life ◽  
Chinese Giant Salamander ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

During the evolutionary transition from fish to tetrapods, a shift from uni- to bidirectional suction feeding systems followed a reduction in the gill apparatus. Such a shift can still be observed during metamorphosis of salamanders, although many adult salamanders retain their aquatic lifestyle and feed by high-performance suction. Unfortunately, little is known about the interplay between jaws and hyobranchial motions to generate bidirectional suction flows. Here, we study the cranial morphology, as well as kinematic and hydrodynamic aspects related to prey capture in the Chinese giant salamander ( Andrias davidianus ). Compared with fish and previously studied amphibians, A. davidianus uses an alternative suction mechanism that mainly relies on accelerating water by separating the ‘plates’ formed by the long and broad upper and lower jaw surfaces. Computational fluid dynamics simulations, based on three-dimensional morphology and kinematical data from high-speed videos, indicate that the viscerocranial elements mainly serve to accommodate the water that was given a sufficient anterior-to-posterior impulse beforehand by powerful jaw separation. We hypothesize that this modified way of generating suction is primitive for salamanders, and that this behaviour could have played an important role in the evolution of terrestrial life in vertebrates by releasing mechanical constraints on the hyobranchial system.

Prey capture in the chain pickerel, Esox niger: correlations between feeding and locomotor behavior

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1072-1078 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Rand ◽  
George V. Lauder
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Jaw Movements ◽  
Suction Velocity ◽  
Locomotor Pattern ◽  
Mechanical Unit ◽  
High Speed Cinematography ◽  
Locomotor Patterns

The predatory behavior of the chain pickerel Esox niger was studied by high-speed cinematography to correlate patterns of jaw bone movement with locomotor patterns. Pattern B strikes were initiated at significantly shorter distances from the prey, had higher acceleration rates, and the velocity of mouth opening and suspensorial abduction was greater than for pattern A strikes. No difference was found in the excursion amplitudes of jaw movements between pattern A and pattern B strikes. Significant differences were found between midwater and corner strikes in the amplitude of mouth opening and hyoid depression: both were smaller in corner attacks and suction velocity was higher. Both velocity and amplitude of each mechanical unit in the head can be varied depending on the locomotor pattern and the position of the prey.

scholarly journals Anterior-to-posterior wave of buccal expansion in suction feeding fishes is critical for optimizing fluid flow velocity profile

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (28) ◽  
pp. 1309-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin L Bishop ◽  
Peter C Wainwright ◽  
Roi Holzman
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Peak Flow ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Peak Flow Velocity ◽  
Flow Velocity Profile

In fishes that employ suction feeding, coordinating the timing of peak flow velocity with mouth opening is likely to be an important feature of prey capture success because this will allow the highest forces to be exerted on prey items when the jaws are fully extended and the flow field is at its largest. Although it has long been known that kinematics of buccal expansion in feeding fishes are characterized by an anterior-to-posterior wave of expansion, this pattern has not been incorporated in most previous computational models of suction feeding. As a consequence, these models have failed to correctly predict the timing of peak flow velocity, which according to the currently available empirical data should occur around the time of peak gape. In this study, we use a simple fluid dynamic model to demonstrate that the inclusion of an anterior-to-posterior wave of buccal expansion can correctly reproduce the empirically determined flow velocity profile, although only under very constrained conditions, whereas models that do not allow this wave of expansion inevitably predict peak velocity earlier in the strike, when the gape is less than half of its maximum. The conditions that are required to produce a realistic velocity profile are as follows: (i) a relatively long time lag between mouth opening and expansion of the more posterior parts of the mouth, (ii) a short anterior portion of the mouth relative to more posterior sections, and (iii) a pattern of movement that begins slowly and then rapidly accelerates. Greater maximum velocities were generated in simulations without the anterior-to-posterior wave of expansion, suggesting a trade-off between maximizing fluid speed and coordination of peak fluid speed with peak gape.

scholarly journals Kinematics of prey capture in a flatfish, Pleuronichthys verticalis

1995 ◽  
Vol 198 (5) ◽  
pp. 1173-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Gibb
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
The Body ◽  
Bilateral Asymmetry ◽  
Ocular Side ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Prey Capture Behavior ◽  
Pleuronichthys Verticalis

Hornyhead turbot, Pleuronichthys verticalis (Pleuronectiformes: Pleuronectidae), are morphologically asymmetrical teleosts with substantial bilateral asymmetry in the neurocranium, suspensorium and anterior jaws. In order to quantify the kinematics of prey capture and to test for functional bilateral asymmetries, four individuals of this species were video-taped feeding using a high-speed video system at 200 fields s-1. Frame-by-frame analysis revealed several features not commonly found in prey capture behavior of previously studied ray-finned fishes. These features include (1) extreme lateral compression of the suspensorium and opercular series prior to mouth opening, indicating the consistent presence of a preparatory phase during feeding, (2) apparent dissociation of hyoid retraction and lower jaw depression, (3) prolonged hyoid retraction throughout much of the feeding cycle, and (4) concomitant dorsal rotation of the neurocranium and closing of the jaws. P. verticalis also demonstrate a significant degree of functional bilateral asymmetry during prey capture. When approaching prey, fish flex their heads towards the ocular (anatomically the right) side of the body. During prey capture, their jaws bend out of the midline towards the blind (left) side. Comparisons of the displacement and timing for movements of homologous anatomical features on the ocular and blind sides of the head reveal that maximum gape is always larger on the blind side of the head than on the ocular side. In contrast, other kinematic variables measured are similar on both sides of the head. These results suggest that P. verticalis possess unique functional features of prey capture behavior and that morphological bilateral asymmetry of the head and jaws is associated with, and perhaps causally related to, the functional bilateral asymmetry present during feeding.

scholarly journals Ontogeny of feeding morphology and kinematics in juvenile fishes: a case study of the cottid fish Clinocottus analis

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (9) ◽  
pp. 1961-1971
Author(s):  
A Cook
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Juvenile Period ◽  
Feeding Mode ◽  
Feeding Morphology ◽  
Suction Index ◽  
And Behavior

The development of feeding morphology, kinematics and behavior was examined in the juveniles of the cottid fish Clinocottus analis. The attacks of 18 juvenile C. analis, between 17.59 mm and 42.15 mm in standard length (SL), feeding on brown worms were filmed using high-speed video. Feeding mode, ram- or suction-dominated, kinematic variables and morphology were quantified and compared over the juvenile period. The analysis of these three factors was based on the following questions: (1) do they change over ontogeny; (2) how do their values compare with those of larvae, juveniles and adults of other species; and (3) what is the level of stereotypy, as measured by the variance in these factors, at this stage in ontogeny and does it change? Small C. analis juveniles have the small gape and large buccal cavity of a suction feeder, and this morphology becomes more pronounced as they become larger. The kinematic variables of C. analis juveniles are similar to those of adult suction-feeding cottids and least-squares regression analysis showed significant changes in only two variables (time to prey capture and absolute attack predator­prey distance) over the juvenile period. Feeding mode, as measured by the ram-suction index, shows an increase in the suction component of the strike with increasing size. This study demonstrates that, in C. analis, suction feeding behavior develops during the juvenile period. Within the juvenile stage, morphology, prey-capture kinematics and feeding mode are not tightly linked ontogenetically such that suction-feeder kinematics (short predator­prey distance and low attack velocity) and basic morphology (small gape, large buccal volume) develop much earlier than the employment of a large suction component during the strike.

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