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Peer-reviewedCC BYProceedings. Biological sciences

Lighting and circadian cues shape locomotor strategies for balance and navigation in larval zebrafish.

  • Jiahuan Liu1,2
  • Andy Kraja3,4
  • Samantha N Davis1
  • Hannah Gelnaw1
  • Naoroz Mahmood1
  • David Schoppik1
  • Yunlu Zhu1,5,6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Departments of Neuroscience, Otolaryngology, and the Institute for Translational Neuroscience, NYU Grossman School of Medicine , New York, NY, USA.
  2. 2Department of Psychology, New York University , New York, NY, USA.
  3. 3Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University , New York, NY, USA.
  4. 4Center for Neural Science, New York University , New York, NY, USA.
  5. 5Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
  6. 6Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Abstract

Most fish are inherently unstable and must swim to stabilize posture. How diurnal fish reduce activity at night while maintaining postural control remains unclear. We defined distinct locomotor strategies that larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) use to control posture and navigate the water column in response to light and circadian cues. In the dark, larvae maintain balance by swimming in long bouts with large nose-up rotations, compensating for nose-down drift accrued during prolonged inactivity. Effective postural compensation requires vestibular sensation from the utricle. By contrast, in the light, larvae navigate with short, frequent and variable bouts. While lighting exerts a dominant, masking effect on the locomotor strategies, circadian rhythms modulate swim kinematics. Our results reveal distinct light-dark locomotor strategies and disentangle how ambient light and the internal clock jointly shape balance control and navigation. This work lays the foundation for understanding how external and internal cues interact to govern locomotor activity in freely moving diurnal animals.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{liu2026lighting,
  title = {{Lighting and circadian cues shape locomotor strategies for balance and navigation in larval zebrafish.}},
  author = {Jiahuan Liu and Andy Kraja and Samantha N Davis and Hannah Gelnaw and Naoroz Mahmood and David Schoppik and Yunlu Zhu},
  journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1098/rspb.2026.1651},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42869472},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Lighting and circadian cues shape locomotor strategies for balance and navigation in larval zebrafish.
AU  - Jiahuan Liu
AU  - Andy Kraja
AU  - Samantha N Davis
AU  - Hannah Gelnaw
AU  - Naoroz Mahmood
AU  - David Schoppik
AU  - Yunlu Zhu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Proceedings. Biological sciences
DO  - 10.1098/rspb.2026.1651
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42869472
AB  - Most fish are inherently unstable and must swim to stabilize posture. How diurnal fish reduce activity at night while maintaining postural control remains unclear. We defined distinct locomotor strategies that larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) use to control posture and navigate the water column in response to light and circadian cues. In the dark, larvae maintain balance by swimming in long bouts with large nose-up rotations, compensating for nose-down drift accrued during prolonged inactivity. Effective postural compensation requires vestibular sensation from the utricle. By contrast, in the light, larvae navigate with short, frequent and variable bouts. While lighting exerts a dominant, masking effect on the locomotor strategies, circadian rhythms modulate swim kinematics. Our results reveal distinct light-dark locomotor strategies and disentangle how ambient light and the internal clock jointly shape balance control and navigation. This work lays the foundation for understanding how external and internal cues interact to govern locomotor activity in freely moving diurnal animals.
SN  - 0962-8452
SN  - 1471-2954
ER  -