Coordinated Attacks Through Changing Body Color: The Striped Marlin

The striped marlin Kajikia audax is a large predatory fish and one of the top predators of the open ocean. It possesses remarkable swimming speed and a long, sharp bill. During hunting events these fish often appear in groups. Yet such high-speed predation creates a potential problem: when several predators armed with dangerous bills rush toward the same prey, how do they avoid injuring one another?

Previous observations have shown that striped marlin hunting in groups typically attack a school of fish in turns. At any given moment, only one individual charges into the prey school. This raises an important question: how do these predators coordinate the order of attacks so that they do not collide with one another during high-speed strikes? A recent study has now provided an answer.

A research team led by Alicia Burns from Humboldt University of Berlin used drones to film the hunting behavior of striped marlin. When the researchers later examined the footage, they noticed a striking pattern. Just before launching an attack, a marlin's body suddenly became brighter, and once the attack ended its coloration returned to normal. This observation suggested that the rapid change in body color might function as a signal to other marlin, effectively announcing that an attack is about to occur.

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