Tuning social interactions’ strength drives collective response to light intensity in schooling fish

Schooling fish heavily rely on visual cues to interact with neighbors and avoid obstacles. The availability of sensory information is influenced by environmental conditions and changes in the physical environment that can alter the sensory environment of the fish, which in turn affects individual and group movements. In this study, we combine experiments and data-driven modeling to investigate the impact of varying levels of light intensity on social interactions and collective behavior in rummy-nose tetra fish. The trajectories of single fish and groups of fish swimming in a tank under different lighting conditions were analyzed to quantify their movements and spatial distribution. Interaction functions between two individuals and the fish interaction with the tank wall were reconstructed and modeled for each light condition. Our results demonstrate that light intensity strongly modulates social interactions between fish and their reactions to obstacles, which then impact collective motion patterns that emerge at the group level.群游鱼类高度依赖视觉线索与同伴进行互动，并规避障碍物。鱼类可获取的感官信息会受到环境条件与物理环境变化的影响，此类变化会改变鱼类的感官环境，进而影响个体与群体的游动行为。本研究结合实验与数据驱动建模方法，探究不同光照强度水平对红鼻剪刀鱼（rummy-nose tetra）社交互动与集体行为的影响。本研究分析了不同光照条件下，单条红鼻剪刀鱼与鱼群在水族箱内的游动轨迹，以量化其运动状态与空间分布特征。针对每种光照条件，我们重构了个体间的互动函数以及鱼类与水族箱壁的互动关系并完成建模。研究结果表明，光照强度可显著调控鱼类的社交互动行为及其对障碍物的响应，进而影响群体层面涌现出的集体运动模式。