schooling behaviour

schooling behaviour
Activity characteristic of clupeiform fish (herrings, anchovies, and allies) in which many fish swim together, appearing to act as a single organism.

A school of herring may contain many millions of individuals of roughly similar size. Fishes above or below the size limit break away and form schools among themselves. The primary advantage to the fish seems to be safety for the individual. When threatened, a school of thousands of anchovies, spread over several hundred metres, will contract to a writhing sphere only a few metres across, thereby thwarting the attempt of a natural predator to catch a single individual.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • behaviour — /bi hayv yeuhr/, n. Chiefly Brit. behavior. Usage. See or1. * * * (as used in expressions) aggressive behaviour avoidance behaviour behaviour genetics behaviour therapy behaviour modification chaotic behaviour …   Universalium

  • Schooling — This interesting surname has two distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, Schooling may be of Germanic origin, and a patronymic form of Scholl , itself a metonymic occupational name for a bell ringer or a town …   Surnames reference

  • human behaviour — Introduction       the potential and expressed capacity for physical, mental, and social activity during the phases of human life.       Human beings, like other animal species, have a typical life course that consists of successive phases of… …   Universalium

  • Coral reef fish — The fish that inhabit coral reefs are numerous and diverse. Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish… …   Wikipedia

  • clupeiform — ▪ fish Introduction       any member of the superorder Clupeomorpha, a group of bony fishes (bony fish) with one living order, the Clupeiformes, that contains some of the world s most numerous and economically important fishes (fish). The order… …   Universalium

  • Bigfin reef squid — Not to be confused with Bigfin squid. Bigfin reef squid A bigfin reef squid from the Tokyo Sea Life Park, Tokyo, Japan …   Wikipedia

  • Fish — are aquatic vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously cold blooded), covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. Fish are abundant in the sea and in fresh water, with species being …   Wikipedia

  • fish — fishless, adj. /fish/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) fish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) fishes, v. n. 1. any of various cold blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with …   Universalium

  • Fish — /fish/, n. Hamilton, 1808 93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869 77. * * * I Any of more than 24,000 species of cold blooded vertebrates found worldwide in fresh and salt water. Living species range from the primitive lampreys and hagfishes… …   Universalium

  • Rummy-nose tetra — Taxobox name = Rummy Nose Tetra image width = 250px image caption = Rummy nose tetra regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Actinopterygii ordo = Characiformes familia = Characidae subfamilia = incertae sedis genus = Hemigrammus species =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”