Swimming in school to hear better

Researchers believe that an American species of fish is swimming in a school in order to better hear the ultrasound sounds of dolphins together.

The American shad is one of the few fish species that can capture dolphin clicks with ultrasound. Thus, it was largely able to stay away from the stomachs of dolphins. Well, there are results from studies that indicate that shadows are not heard well enough to hear voices.

New computer models will show that this changes when the fish swim in the school. As if they made up a very big ear together. A kind of safety net for incoming sound, where sound waves are reflected off the school’s structure so that every fish receiving it swells up.

The idea intrigued biologists and can now be explored in real life. If the shallow water pattern is optimized to pick up the sounds of dolphins, you should be able to tell this from their composition when compared to schools of other fish of roughly the same size.

Read more here: Surveying and Hydrodynamic Benefits of Fish Education.