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Sand-burrowing Kinematics of Sand Lances, genus Ammodytes

Gidmark, N.J., Strother, J.A., Horton, J.M., and Brainerd, E.L.

Sandlances, Ammodytes spp., are a genus of small, schooling fishes that exhibit a peculiar burrowing behavior in which they appear to swim rapidly into the sandy substrate. This behavior has been shown to occur for hibernation and for predator avoidance. While burrowing, these fishes experience a physical transition from water (a relatively inviscid fluid) to a sand-water mix (a relatively more viscous, granular fluid). We used standard high-speed video and cineflouroscopy to investigate the progression of 3-D kinematic behavior throughout the burrowing process of A. hexapterus, A. americanus, and A. dubius. Burrowing was found to occur in three stages: 1) the initial dive stage; 2) an aquatic propulsion stage; and 3) a subterranean propulsion stage. The transition from stage 2 to stage 3 is described as the transition from fish-like undulatory locomotion to snake-like undulatory locomotion. Size class was not found to have an effect on kinematics, but large sand lances exhibited the burrowing behavior much more readily than small individuals. The three species were grouped together for the purposes of analysis, since this behavior was found to be relatively stereotyped.

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Functional Morphology & Biomechanics Laboratory
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Brown University

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