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Cited by 88Fish biology, ecology, and behaviorMultisensory perception and integrationVisual perception and processing mechanisms

Rheotaxis revisited: a multi-behavioral and multisensory perspective on how fish orient to flow

Open access
Coombs, Sheryl, Bak-Coleman, Joe, Montgomery, John·2020·Journal of Experimental Biology
DOI 10.1242/jeb.223008
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Abstract

Here, we review fish rheotaxis (orientation to flow) with the goal of placing it within a larger behavioral and multisensory context. Rheotaxis is a flexible behavior that is used by fish in a variety of circumstances: to search for upstream sources of current-borne odors, to intercept invertebrate drift and, in general, to conserve energy while preventing downstream displacement. Sensory information available for rheotaxis includes water-motion cues to the lateral line and body-motion cues to visual, vestibular or tactile senses when fish are swept downstream. Although rheotaxis can be mediated by a single sense, each sense has its own limitations. For example, lateral line cues are limited by the spatial characteristics of flow, visual cues by water visibility, and vestibular and other body-motion cues by the ability of fish to withstand downstream displacement. The ability of multiple senses to compensate for any single-sense limitation enables rheotaxis to persist over a wide range of sensory and flow conditions. Here, we propose a mechanism of rheotaxis that can be activated in parallel by one or more senses; a major component of this mechanism is directional selectivity of central neurons to broad patterns of water and/or body motions. A review of central mechanisms for vertebrate orienting behaviors and optomotor reflexes reveals several motorsensory integration sites in the CNS that could be involved in rheotaxis. As such, rheotaxis provides an excellent opportunity for understanding the multisensory control of a simple vertebrate behavior and how a simple motor act is integrated with others to form complex behaviors.

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  • Systematic manipulations of sensory features, including simZFish's optical lens and retinal connectivity, revealed key factors driving neural architecture and response characteristics.

    “Further, we used systematic manipulations of sensory features, including simZFish’s optical lens and retinal connectivity, to reveal key factors driving neural architecture and response characteristics (31, 37).”

    From Artificial embodied circuits uncover neural architectures of vertebrate visuomotor behaviors (2025) · cites this paper as [37]

    The paper’s Summary and conclusions discusses multisensory rheotaxis and proposes future mapping of neural circuitry; its methodological-pitfalls section discusses sensory-deprivation treatments. Searches for simZFish, an optical lens, retinal connectivity, and systematic manipulations revealing neural architecture found no passage addressing the attributed result. The indexed passages provide no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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2 of the 120 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. [25]25. S. Coombs, H. Bleckmann, A. N. Popper and R. R. Fay), pp. 151-194. New York: Springer Verlag.
  2. [32]32. H. Bleckmann, J. Mogdans and S. Coombs), pp. 65-101. Berlin: Springer.
  3. [33]33. Coombs, S., Bleckmann, H., Fay, R. R. and Popper, A. N. (2013). The Lateral Line System. Vol. 48, Springer Handbook of Auditory Research (ed.
  4. [34]34. R. R. Fay and A. N. Popper). New York: Springer Verlag.
  5. [47]47. H. Bleckmann, J. Mogdans and S. Coombs), pp. 127-146. Berlin: Springer.
  6. [64]64. H. Bleckmann, J. Mogdans and S. Coombs), pp. 215-243. Berlin: Springer.

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Authors
Coombs, S., Bak-Coleman, J., & Montgomery, J.
Affiliations
  • Bowling Green State University (US)
  • University of Washington, Center for an Informed Public and eScience Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
  • University of Auckland (NZ)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Experimental Biology
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Published
2020-12-01
Volume
223
Issue
23
ISSN
  • 0022-0949 (ISSN-L)
  • 1477-9145
DOI
10.1242/jeb.223008
OpenAlex
W3113180917
Cited by
88
References
120
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 4
FWCI
0.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.biologists.com/user-licence-1-1 (vor, 6 d)
Locations
  • Journal of Experimental Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
  • ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Office of Naval Research (N00014-12-1-0375)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish biology, ecology, and behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
Keywords
rheotaxis, multisensory integration, lateral line, visual cues, vestibular cues, tactile cues, energy conservation, direction selectivity, optomotor reflex, motor control, fish behavior
MeSH terms
Animals, Cues, Fishes, Odorants, Orientation, Lateral Line System

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