Data and R script for: Shoaling behaviour in response to turbidity in three-spined sticklebacks

Many fresh and coastal waters are becoming increasingly turbid because of human activities, which may disrupt the visually-mediated behaviours of aquatic organisms. Shoaling fish typically depend on vision to maintain collective behaviour, which has a range of benefits including protection from predators, enhanced foraging efficiency, and access to mates. Previous studies of the effects of turbidity on shoaling behaviour have focussed on changes to nearest neighbour distance and average group-level behaviours. Here, we investigated whether and how experimental shoals of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in clear (<10 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU)) and turbid (~35 NTU) conditions differed in five local-level behaviours of individuals (nearest and furthest neighbour distance, heading difference with nearest neighbour, bearing angle to nearest neighbour, and swimming speed). These variables are important for the emergent group-level properties of shoaling behaviou...

受人类活动影响，全球众多淡水与近海水体的浊度正持续升高，这可能会干扰水生生物依赖视觉介导的行为模式。群游鱼类通常依赖视觉维持集群行为，这类行为具有多重优势：可抵御捕食者、提升觅食效率，同时便于个体寻觅配偶。既往有关浊度对群游行为影响的研究，多聚焦于个体间最近邻距离以及群体层面的平均行为变化。本研究以三刺鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus）的实验群为对象，探究在清水（浊度<10 散射浊度单位（Nephelometric Turbidity Units，NTU））与浊水（浊度约35 NTU）环境下，其个体层面的5项局部行为是否存在差异，以及具体差异模式。这5项局部行为包括：最近邻与最远距离、与最近邻的朝向差、至最近邻的方位角，以及游泳速度。上述变量对于群游行为所涌现出的群体层面特征具有重要意义。