Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Functional Trade-Offs Between Terrestrial And Aquatic Locomotion In The Amphibious Fish Kryptolebias Marmoratus, Erik Axlid

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The mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus) is a phenotypically plastic teleost fish that can spend considerable time on land and traverse the terrestrial realm through a ballistic behavior termed the tail-flip jump. The tail-flip jump is a transitional stage between fully aquatic and terrestrial lifestyles. Therefore, understanding this behavior can provide insight into how organisms adapt to new environments over evolutionary time. Taxa that are successful tail-flip jumpers have a deep caudal peduncle and uniform body shape. Studies of K. marmoratus show that terrestrial acclimation and exercise improves tail-flip jumping performance due to muscle remodeling, but the implications of these muscular …