Data from: Navigating nature's terrain: Jumping performance robust to substrate moisture and roughness by blackspotted rockskippers (Entomacrodus striatus)

Escape responses are vital for the survival of prey. The high speeds and
accelerations needed to evade predators successfully require exerting
forces on the environment. Unlike water, terrestrial habitats can vary in
ways that constrain the forces applied, requiring animals to adjust their
behavior in response to variable conditions. We evaluated the terrestrial
jumping of an amphibious fish, the blackspotted rockskipper (Entomacrodus
striatus), to determine if substrate roughness and wetness influence
jumping performance. We predicted that rockskippers produce a greater
force output as substrate roughness increased and wetness decreased. Using
a novel waterproof force-plate capable of detecting milliNewton loads, we
collected ground reaction forces from rockskippers jumping on wet and dry
sandpapers of varying grits. We also used micro-CT scans to quantify
muscle mass as a relative fraction of body mass to determine if these
jumps could be performed without power amplification. Mixed-model analysis
of jumps revealed significantly higher maximum horizontal forces, jump
duration, and maximum power on dry vs. wet substrates, but no effect of
substrate roughness. However, final jump outcomes (takeoff speed and
angle) were unaffected. Peak jump power was within the range of typical
fish muscle. Thus, these fish display a jumping behavior which is robust
to substrate property variation.