Peer pressure saves the lives of fish

Big schools of fish make better decisions than small schools of fish. Less smoking, less risky sex, and no flirting with predators.

How can this be? Is it more likely that big schools have some super-smart fish that help the group? Or is it just that numbers are helpful? If you've ever watched the behavior of fish schools being chased, you'll probably guess the answer, it's group behavior that helps individual fish survive.

Watch these videos (below) and other you can find online for "super-organism" behavior where fish schools look like one giant creature swooping and swirling.

If I remember right, the great oceanographer John McIsaac once theorized from physical principles that a fish school could function like a lens focusing sound so that the fish could detect predators better in a swarm.

hat tip: Deep Blue Home

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Fish spawning earlier in California's ocean

Warmer water thanks to climate change is coaxing fish to spawn earlier in the ocean off California.  Changes like this can sound like no big deal, but timing is everything when you make microscopic babies that will die if they don't eat in a few days.  What if their preferred food supply isn't growing earlier?  OOops.

Evolve or die, and do so quickly.

hat tip:  oystersgarter

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