Wonder of the Day #1131
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SCIENCE — Life Science
Have You Ever Wondered...
- What is a fish tornado?
- What's the difference between a school and a shoal?
- Why do fish tend to swim in groups?
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- Baja California,
- bigeye,
- Cabo Pulmo National Park,
- Cabo San Lucas,
- column,
- congregating,
- courtship,
- cyclone,
- cyclonic,
- dusky jack,
- event,
- fish,
- great trevally,
- jack,
- marine,
- Mexico,
- nature,
- phenomenon,
- pursuit,
- rare,
- reserve,
- school,
- Sea of Cortez,
- shoal,
- six-banded trevally,
- social,
- storm,
- swirling,
- synchronized,
- tornado,
- trevally,
- Baja California,
- Bigeye,
- Cabo Pulmo National Park,
- Cabo San Lucas,
- Column,
- Congregating,
- Courtship,
- Cyclone,
- Cyclonic,
- Dusky Jack,
- Event,
- Fish,
- Great Trevally,
- Jack,
- Marine,
- Mexico,
- Nature,
- Phenomenon,
- Pursuit,
- Rare,
- Reserve,
- School,
- Sea Of Cortez,
- Shoal,
- Six-Banded Trevally,
- Social,
- Storm,
- Swirling,
- Synchronized,
- Tornado,
- Trevally
Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Josh. Josh Wonders, “Why do fish make fish tornadoes?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Josh!
Have you ever seen a tornado? Tornadoes strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest souls. Made of violent, swirling winds, they destroy buildings and injure people. Only the most daring storm chasers want to get close to a tornado.
But what if you came across a tornado underwater? It might be made of swirling fish instead of strong winds! Does it sound like we’re making this up? Think again! That sight would be what some scientists call a fish tornado!
Photographer and marine scientist Octavio Aburto caught a fish tornado on camera at Cabo Pulmo National Park. There, Aburto studies the behavior of several types of jackfish.
During his studies, Aburto witnessed the unique courtship behavior of the bigeye trevally. He saw that large groups of the fish swim quickly together and around one another at high speeds. This creates a moving, swirling column of fish that can only be described as a fish tornado. These events can include thousands of fish!
Aburto witnessed these fish tornadoes on many occasions. However, it was nearly three years before he could capture one on camera. His photographs and videos have become sensations on the Internet.
Marine biologists who have seen the photographs and videos point out that such behavior is common. It doesn’t always rise to the level of a fish tornado, however. What Aburto captured is special.
If you know much about fish, you probably know that they commonly swim in groups. Upon seeing a group of fish swimming together, many children will immediately exclaim, “A school of fish!”
School is actually a technical term with a particular meaning when it comes to a group of fish. Any group of fish congregating together is called a shoal. For a shoal to be considered a school, it must meet certain criteria. A group of fish is only a school if all the fish are swimming together at the same speed, in the same direction, and turning at the same time.
Why do fish tend to hang out in groups? There are several reasons, but they all boil down to the fact there’s safety — and success — in numbers.
Fish in groups find food easier. Swimming in groups also helps fish find potential mates. If danger approaches, it’s much safer to be part of a large group of fish than to be on your own. And who knows? It may just be more fun for fish to hang out with friends. Don’t you think it would be fun to swim as part of a fish tornado? We do!
Standards: NGSS.LS2.D, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.W.4
Wonder What's Next?
Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a Wonder of the Day that looks like it’s going to be spectacular!
Try It Out
Ready to cast out your line to catch more fishy fun? Ask a friend or family member to join you as you explore the following activities:
- Are you blown away by the fish tornado? Jump online with a friend or family member to check out more awesome photographs of this fishy phenomenon known as the fish tornado. Discuss what you find most interesting about these photographs.
- You learned today that any group of fish can be called a shoal, but that a school of fish has additional, specific characteristics. What are other groups of animals called? Check out Animal Collective Nouns online to learn the names of groups of all sorts of other animals. Which names intrigue you the most? If you were an animal, what would you want your group name to be?
- Up for a challenge? Think about the things you do every day. Don't limit yourself to just the past day or week. Think back several weeks, months, or even years. Make a list of the types of things that you do. From going to school and practicing soccer to hiking and playing with friends, your list can be as long as you want it to be. Once you have a list assembled that has several dozen activities listed on it, go through your list and think about each activity. Which activities do you like to do alone? Which activities are more fun as a group? Humans don't always travel in groups like fish do, but sometimes we do stick together like a shoal or a school of fish for specific purposes. What activities require people to behave somewhat like a school of fish? Do your activities seem to usually occur in groups of people or alone? Discuss your findings with a friend or family member. What insights do they have? Do they have similar behavior patterns? Have fun looking at your life with a new perspective!
Wonder Sources
- http://grist.org/list/apparently-theres-such-a-thing-as-a-fish-tornado-and-this-is-what-it-looks-like/ (accessed 11 Dec. 2020)
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2249655/David-Goliath-Underwater-photographer-Octavio-Aburto-captures-tornado-fish-rare-video.html (accessed 11 Dec. 2020)
- http://www.sju.edu/int/academics/cas/biology/resources/biodiversity/fishcam/shoaling.html (accessed 11 Dec. 2020)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigeye_trevally (accessed 11 Dec. 2020)
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Wonder Contributors
We’d like to thank:
Annika, Ginelle and Edward
for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!
Keep WONDERing with us!
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Wonder Words
- tornado
- technical
- criteria
- column
- exclaim
- violent
- marine
- congregating
- courtship
- shoal
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