Fish Swimming

The fascinating study of fish swimming is thoroughly covered in this up-to-date, readable, and well-illustrated book. Contents include: interactions between fish and water; the functional morphology of the swimming apparatus; muscle physiology; the ontogeny of swimming behaviour; and ecological implications of different swimming styles.

Part 1 Interactions between fish and water: properties of water; buoyancy, weight, thrust and drag; the footprints of a fish; transmission of forces between fish and water. Part 2 The structure of the swimming apparatus - muscles: lateral muscles and septa; different muscle fibres; innervation. Part 3 The structure of the swimming apparatus - body axis and fins: the median septum and vertebral column; fin rays; fins. Part 4 The structure of the swimming apparatus - shape, skin and special adaptations: streamlined bodies; the structure of fish skin; special adaptations. Part 5 Fish kinematics - history and methods: historical overview; methods for kinematic studies on fish; examples of the analysis of swimming. Part 6 Fish kinematics - swimming movements stride by stride: comparison of kinematic data; unsteady swimming; precise kinematics of the tail; swimming with appendages. Part 7 Swimming dynamics - work from muscles: general muscle physiology and special fish muscles; muscle function during cyclic strain changes; maximum muscle twitch frequencies of myotome blocks; size and temperature effects on contraction velocity; electromyography. Part 8 Swimming dynamics - exchange of forces between fish and water: dynamics of interactions between undulating fish and water; muscle activity from head to tail; optimum workloops of muscle fibres along the body; force transfer from head to tail; bulging muscles as an alternative. Part 9 The costs of swimming: a fair comparison between costs of swimming; fish swimming costs at optimum speed; fish in comparison with other swimmers. Part 10 Ecological implications: speed and endurance; allocation of energy.