The pectoral fins, positioned close to the body at rest, moved asynchronously and asymmetrically. In humans, the initiation of movement has been studied in depth and found to be remarkably stereotyped (e.g. To study the detailed kinematics of slow swimming bouts, we filmed groups of 5–6 normal or finless larval zebrafish in a rectangular glass tank (x–y–z dimensions 6.5×3×1.5 cm) at a frame rate of 1000 Hz. Generally, it is a vertically expanded structure which is located at the caudal end of the body. There was no statistically significant difference in the overall performance of the normal and finless animals or in their patterns of movement. 1C), demonstrating that slow swimming in larval fish is not at a steady velocity but varies considerably within each cycle of rhythmic swimming. All experiments were performed in a single day and used fish from a single clutch of eggs. These data suggest that with increasing speed through the entire range of swimming, larval zebrafish increase tail beat amplitude at a constant frequency and then further increase speed by increasing tail beat frequency. At the velocity minimum Re=23±10 and at the velocity maximum Re=67±28. Videos were analyzed with ImageJ. We analyzed the movement of fluid by the pectoral fin during five slow swimming bouts, each bout performed by a different individual. (1) This result is comparable to that of the study by Jonz and Nurse, who also reported an increased number of respiratory movements (which included pectoral fin movements) in larval zebrafish exposed to low DO water (Jonz and Nurse, 2005). Two types of fins are found in most of the fish: median and paired fins. 2D), more than doubling over the speed range, with measured amplitudes ranging from 0.05 to 0.15 TL s–1 (averaging 0.10±0.03 TL among trials). Please log in to add an alert for this article. The pectoral fins for Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) are retractable; they fit into slots so that when they are retracted, they are flush with the side of the fish. Flow visualization experiments using dye demonstrated that the pectoral fins move fluid from a distance lateral to the fin to the side of the body and that this fluid is moved from rostral to caudal along the side of the fish. (B) Fin angles (data from the leading fin are in black, data from the trailing fin are in red) and tail position in total lengths (TL, gray) through the swim bout shown in A, illustrating coordination between the fins and frequency matching between the fins and tail. Conditions as the inverse of pectoral fin during five slow swimming bouts were marked by increases... I. Kinematic effects of swimming when the fins and assess the effect of fin... Last three caudal vertebrae Lophiiformes ) use their long pectoral fins we investigated an alternative hypothesis that the functions the... 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