Navigating Nature's Terrain: Jumping Performance Robust to Substrate Moisture and Roughness by Blackspotted Rockskippers (Entomacrodus striatus).

ABSTRACT: Escape responses are vital for the survival of prey. The high speeds and accelerations needed to evade predators successfully require exerting forces on the environment. Unlike water, terrestrial habitats can vary in ways that constrain the forces applied, requiring animals to adjust their behavior in response to variable conditions. We evaluated the terrestrial jumping of an amphibious fish, the blackspotted rockskipper (Entomacrodus striatus), to determine if substrate roughness and wetness influence jumping performance. We predicted that rockskippers would produce a greater force output as substrate roughness increased and wetness decreased. Using a novel waterproof force plate capable of detecting millinewton loads, we collected ground reaction forces from rockskippers jumping on wet a

SUBMITTER: Bartlett DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11959685 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature