Mechanics of Fish Interactions with Habitat Protuberances

游泳是鱼类能量获取、能量消耗和生存的关键因素。在有效获取食物的同时避免成为捕食者食物的能力受到岩石、杂草、风暴树、珊瑚、人造珊瑚礁等结构的存在的强烈影响。这些结构在溪流、洋流和潮汐中尤其重要。鱼类利用结构的能力取决于不同物种的形态和行为。因此，与生境结构的相互作用会影响种群动态、群落组成和进化生物学。尽管结构对鱼类生命的许多方面都很重要，但对所用机制的研究很少。我们的研究将首次尝试为鱼类与它们喜欢的复杂结构的相互作用提供一个共同的机制理解和预测模型。我们考察了鱼使用复杂结构时的行为和游动性能，确定了外加水流速度和鱼的形态。我们预计我们的结果将有助于解释在相对稳定或可预测的情况下的栖息地偏好，如下游河流、许多内陆湖泊和近海海洋生物栖息地。我们还相信，我们的结果将有助于解释鱼类如何在更自然压力较大的栖息地生存或被排除在外，比如温带溪流和潮间带。我们相信，我们的研究将对渔业管理产生影响。增加结构是一种常见的栖息地改善做法，野外经验表明，可以使用各种结构来吸引不同的鱼类物种。我们的结果应该为这种栖息地改善实践提供一个预测性的基础。

Swimming is a key factor in energy acquisition, energy expenditure, and survival of fishes. The ability to efficiently obtain food while avoiding becoming food for predators is strongly affected by the presence of structures such as rocks, weeds, windfall trees, corals, artifical reefs etc. These structures are especially important in streams, oceanic currents, and tidal flows. The ability of fish to use structures depends on morphology and behavior which vary among species. Consequently interactions with habitat structure affect population dynamics, community compostition and the evolutionary biology. In spite of the importance of structure to so many apsects of the lives of fishes, there has been little research on mechanisms employed. Our research will be the first attempt to provide a common mechanistic understanding and predictive model for fish interactions with the complex structures they prefer. We examine behavior and swimming performance as fish use complex structure, determining imposed current velocity and fish morphology. We expect our results will help explain habitat preferences in relatively stable or predictable situations such as lower river reaches, many inland lakes, and offshore marine habitats. We also believe our results will help explain how fish survive in or are excluded from more naturally stressful habitats, such a temperate streams and intertidal zones. We believe our research will have impact on fisheries management. Addition of structure is a common habitat improvement practice and field experience show that various stuctures can be used to attract different fish species. Our results should provide a predictive basis for such habitat improvement practices.