A mechanical parameter of coasting varies bout to bout and predicts swim timing in larval zebrafish
- 1Janelia Research Campus
Abstract
Most animals move intermittently. Of these, animals that fly and swim move in two stages: during active propulsion, when they beat their wings or swing their tails, and right after, when they glide or coast through the air or water. The kinematics of active movements are typically well studied, but the coasting period afterwards is less understood. We used larval zebrafish as a model of intermittent locomotion. Larval zebrafish swim in discrete bouts lasting ~200 ms, coast for short durations and distances, and then are largely stationary for ~800 ms. We find that larval zebrafish do not coast like a passive object. While they coast for distances that are correlated with the prior swim's strength, as expected from physics, they seem to be able to modulate the mechanics of their coasting: the time constant is not a constant, but varies from coast-to-coast. Furthermore, the time constant is correlated with the duration of the interval between swim bouts. This suggests that larval zebrafish can either shorten or extend their coasting duration, and that coasting inhibits the initiation of the next swim. Finally, the time constant changes quickly, while other swimming kinematics (e.g., distance swum) are autocorrelated over the course of at least several seconds. Altogether, this suggests that fish, and perhaps other animals that move intermittently, actively modulate their post-propulsion movement, possibly to gather sensory feedback in the absence of blurry visual feedback associated with fast locomotion.
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BibTeX
@misc{how2026mechanical,
title = {{A mechanical parameter of coasting varies bout to bout and predicts swim timing in larval zebrafish}},
author = {J. J. How and S. Schwinn and M. Haesemeyer and F. Engert},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.25.754473},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754473v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A mechanical parameter of coasting varies bout to bout and predicts swim timing in larval zebrafish
AU - J. J. How
AU - S. Schwinn
AU - M. Haesemeyer
AU - F. Engert
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.25.754473
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754473v1
AB - Most animals move intermittently. Of these, animals that fly and swim move in two stages: during active propulsion, when they beat their wings or swing their tails, and right after, when they glide or coast through the air or water. The kinematics of active movements are typically well studied, but the coasting period afterwards is less understood. We used larval zebrafish as a model of intermittent locomotion. Larval zebrafish swim in discrete bouts lasting ~200 ms, coast for short durations and distances, and then are largely stationary for ~800 ms. We find that larval zebrafish do not coast like a passive object. While they coast for distances that are correlated with the prior swim's strength, as expected from physics, they seem to be able to modulate the mechanics of their coasting: the time constant is not a constant, but varies from coast-to-coast. Furthermore, the time constant is correlated with the duration of the interval between swim bouts. This suggests that larval zebrafish can either shorten or extend their coasting duration, and that coasting inhibits the initiation of the next swim. Finally, the time constant changes quickly, while other swimming kinematics (e.g., distance swum) are autocorrelated over the course of at least several seconds. Altogether, this suggests that fish, and perhaps other animals that move intermittently, actively modulate their post-propulsion movement, possibly to gather sensory feedback in the absence of blurry visual feedback associated with fast locomotion.
ER -