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7871428 
Journal Article 
High turbidity levels alter coral reef fish movement in a foraging task 
Newport, C; Padget, O; de Perera, TB 
2021 
1 
Scientific Reports
EISSN: 2045-2322 
Nature Research 
11 
1 
5976 
English 
33742061 
WOS:000632044800001 
Sensory systems allow animals to detect and respond to stimuli in their environment and underlie all behaviour. However, human induced pollution is increasingly interfering with the functioning of these systems. Increased suspended sediment, or turbidity, in aquatic habitats reduces the reactive distance to visual signals and may therefore alter movement behaviour. Using a foraging task in which fish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus) had to find six food sites in an aquarium, we tested the impact of high turbidity (40-68 NTU; 154 mg/L) on foraging efficiency using a detailed and novel analysis of individual movements. High turbidity led to a significant decrease in task efficacy as fish took longer to begin searching and find food, and they travelled further whilst searching. Trajectory analyses revealed that routes were less efficient and that fish in high turbidity conditions were more likely to cover the same ground and search at a slower speed. These results were observed despite the experimental protocol allowing for the use of alternate sensory systems (e.g. olfaction, lateral line). Given that movement underlies fundamental behaviours including foraging, mating, and predator avoidance, a reduction in movement efficiency is likely to have a significant impact on the health and population dynamics of visually-guided fish species. 
article; coral reef; drug efficacy; foraging; human; lateral line system; mating; population dynamics; predator avoidance; turbidity; velocity