Automated flow control of a multi-lane swimming chamber for small fishes indicates species-specific sensitivity to experimental protocols

In fishes, swimming performance is considered an important metric to measure fitness, dispersal, and migratory abilities. Swimming performance of individual larval fishes is often integrated into models to make inferences on how environmental parameters affect population-level dynamics (e.g., connectivity). However, little information exists regarding how experimental protocols affect the swimming performance of marine fish larvae. In addition, the technical setups used to measure larval fish swimming performance often lack automation and accurate control of water quality parameters and flow velocity. In this study, we automated the control of multi-lane swimming chambers for small fishes by developing an open-source algorithm. This automation allowed us to execute repeatable flow scenarios and reduce operator interference and inaccuracies in flow velocity typically associated with manual control. Furthermore, we made structural modifications to a prior design to reduce areas of lower f...

在鱼类研究领域，游泳表现被视作衡量生存适合度（fitness）、扩散能力（dispersal）与洄游能力（migratory abilities）的关键指标。科研人员常将单个仔鱼（larval fishes）的游泳表现纳入模型，以此推断环境参数对种群水平动态（例如连通性（connectivity））的影响。然而，目前尚少相关研究阐明实验方案（experimental protocols）对海洋鱼类仔鱼游泳表现的影响。此外，现有用于测量鱼类仔鱼游泳表现的技术装置往往未实现自动化，且难以精准调控水质参数与水流流速。本研究通过开发开源算法（open-source algorithm），实现了小型鱼类多泳道游泳测试舱（multi-lane swimming chambers）的自动化控制。该系统可执行可重复的水流工况，同时有效减少手动控制中常见的操作人员干预与流速控制偏差。此外，我们对既往设计方案开展结构改良，以缩减低$f$区域的占比（原文后续内容未完整呈现）。