Modeling multi-sensory feedback control of zebrafish in a flow

PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Jan 22;17(1):e1008644. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008644. eCollection 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Understanding how animals navigate complex environments is a fundamental challenge in biology and a source of inspiration for the design of autonomous systems in engineering. Animal orientation and navigation is a complex process that integrates multiple senses, whose function and contribution are yet to be fully clarified. Here, we propose a data-driven mathematical model of adult zebrafish engaging in counter-flow swimming, an innate behavior known as rheotaxis. Zebrafish locomotion in a two-dimensional fluid flow is described within the finite-dipole model, which consists of a pair of vortices separated by a constant distance. The strength of these vortices is adjusted in real time by the fish to afford orientation and navigation control, in response to of the multi-sensory input from vision, lateral line, and touch. Model parameters for the resulting stochastic differential equations are calibrated through a series of experiments, in which zebrafish swam in a water channel under different illumination conditions. The accuracy of the model is validated through the study of a series of measures of rheotactic behavior, contrasting results of real and in-silico experiments. Our results point at a critical role of hydromechanical feedback during rheotaxis, in the form of a gradient-following strategy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Computational Biology
  • Feedback, Sensory / physiology*
  • Female
  • Male
  • Models, Biological*
  • Orientation, Spatial / physiology*
  • Spatial Navigation / physiology
  • Swimming / physiology*
  • Zebrafish / physiology