Swim smarter, not harder!

🚨 New Paper Alert! 🚨

Fishes don’t just swim harder—they swim smarter. 🐟⚡

In our latest paper, published in Journal of Experimental Biology, Elsa Goerig and I explore how fishes actively exploit habitat complexity to reduce the energetic cost of swimming.

Fish locomotion is often studied under controlled conditions, but in nature, they navigate dynamic hydrodynamic landscapes. 🌊

Instead of following a simple speed–metabolism relationship, fish adjust their movement strategies to conserve energy:

• 🏄‍♂️ Surfing updrafts to reduce drag

• 🏎️ Drafting behind objects or conspecifics

• 🚶 Walking rather than swimming in certain conditions

  
  

These behaviors challenge conventional models of swimming efficiency and highlight the importance of habitat complexity in fish ecology and conservation. By leveraging environmental features, fishes reduce the cost of movement, reinforcing the need to protect and restore habitat complexity.

Thank you to Journal of Experimental Biology, The Company of Biologists, Andy Biewener, and Alan Wilson for organizing this excellent special issue. I’m also grateful for the inspiring discussions with symposium participants.

Read the paper here!