Fish Aquatic Studies

Abstract

AbstractThough the application of smart materials and smart structures is widespread in the study of animal behavior, in this article the focus is on the application of smart materials and smart structures to fish aquatic studies. We concentrate on two specific aspects of behavioral studies of fish. First, operant conditioning, a laboratory technique used to study foraging, temperature regulation, and circadian rhythms in fish is examined. Second, the application of smart materials and smart structures to telemetry studies involving fish is discussed. Aquatic animal researchers have used telemetry technology to track fish to determine home range and movement patterns, quantify muscle movement to determine level of physical activity metabolism rates, and to assess temperature regulatory ability. For each of these applications, the use of such materials from a historical perspective is considered reader is brought up to date in terms of current technology. Specific details about the apparatus used by researchers that incorporates the use of smart materials and smart structures, and we provide several examples of the types of applications that researchers have developed are provided. In addition the findings that have resulted from using smart materials and smart structures are examined.This article is not meant to be exhaustive in its approach to the use of smart materials and smart structures in fish aquatic studies. The goal is to provide a representative set of applications that the reader could then explore in greater detail.