Morphological adaptations of cavefish support enhanced hydrodynamic perception for underwater environmental monitoringOA
Many of Earth''s most biodiverse and biogeochemically active aquatic ecosystems—including groundwater karst systems,turbid estuaries and the deep ocean—are perpetually dark and hydraulically complex,making long-term,high-resolution monitoring technologically challenging.Conventional optical and acoustic sensors suffer rapid signal attenuation and high energy demand in these conditions.Cavefishes of the genus Sinocyclocheilus,which inhabit lightless subterranean waters,have evolved distinctive cranial morphologies—a duckbilled head,dorsal horn and hump—hypothesized to enhance hydrodynamic perception.Here we show,by combining vital staining of neuromasts with validated computational fluid dynamics simulations across a morphological series of Sinocyclocheilus species,that these structures dramatically amplify differential pressure signals(by up to 429.8%)and near-wall velocity gradients(by up to 69.2%)while extending perceptual range.Regions of maximal hydrodynamic variation predicted by the models closely match the observed distribution of canal and superficial neuromasts,revealing a clear biomimetic design principle:sensors should be positioned where flow-field gradients are strongest.These findings establish a quantitative,evolution-guided framework for optimizing artificial lateral line(ALL)sensor arrays,enabling autonomous underwater vehicles to perform energy-efficient,high-fidelity monitoring in some of the planet''s most sensitive and data-scarce aquatic environments.
Qi Yang;Qirui Liu;Yuling Wei;Chubin Weng;Li Ma;He Tian;Fang Zhang;Kenneth A.Rose;William R.Jeffery;Mengzhen Xu
State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering,Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering,Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution&Animal Models,Kunming Institute of Zoology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Kunming 650201,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering,Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,ChinaState Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution&Animal Models,Kunming Institute of Zoology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Kunming 650201,ChinaSchool of Integrated Circuits,Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,ChinaSchool of Environment,Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,ChinaHorn Point Lab,University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science,Cambridge,MD,21613,United StatesDepartment of Biology,University of Maryland,College Park,MD,20742-4415,United StatesState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering,Tsinghua University,Beijing,100084,China
生物科学
Environmental monitoringSinocyclocheilus cavefishesLateral line systemHydrodynamic perceptionBio-inspired engineeringSensors placement
《Environmental Science and Ecotechnology》 2026 (2)
P.4-17,14
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.U2243222)Tsinghua University,China(No.2022Z11QYJ044)National Key R&D Program of China(No.2024YFA1803200)Yunnan Provincial Major Project for Basic Research(No.202501BC070018)Coordinate Innovation Center Projects(No.B2106019).
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