The invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) chews off the tails of freshwater fishes and tadpoles, leaving the native animals to perish while dining on other fishes’ and amphibians’ eggs. In a study published December 16 in the journal iScience, researchers engineered a robot to scare mosquitofish away, revealing how fear alters its behavior, physiology, fertility—and may help turn the tide against invasive species.
To fight the invasive fish, the international team, composed of biologists and engineers from Australia, the U.S., and Italy, turned to its natural predator—the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)—for inspiration. They crafted a robotic fish that mimics the appearance and simulates the movements of the real predator. Aided by computer vision, the robot strikes when it spots the mosquitofish approaching tadpoles of an Australian species (Litoria moorei), which is threatened by mosquitofish in the wild. Scared and stressed, the mosquitofish showed fearful behaviors and experienced weight loss, changes in body shape, and a reduction in fertility, all of which impair their survival and reproduction.
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