Fish schools and windfarm

30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

BBC

Technology

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2019

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The way hundreds of fish move together may help with the design of wind turbines. Schools of fish appear to move as one - turning, contracting, expanding, even parting and then coming back together again. This is a beautiful sight. Scientists have been studying them to try to make wind farms more efficient. www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals With Patrick Aryee. #30Animals

Transcript

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0:00.0	One of the most mesmerizing and beautiful underwater sites has got to be a school of fish, swimming and shimmering in unison. In some cases there can be hundreds even
0:26.1	thousands of individuals which appear to move together as one. Twisting and
0:31.5	turning, the group contracting and expanding, parting, and then coming back together again.
0:37.0	And now it seems this behavior could help us to design wind farms that are more energy efficient.
0:47.0	Hey there, welcome back to 30 animals That Made A Smarter, an original podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:57.0	The podcast which investigates the amazing ways in which animals have inspired us.
1:04.0	Thank you for all your comments.
1:08.0	It's great to hear from you.
1:10.0	Do tell your family and friends about us.
1:12.0	If they've never heard a podcast before,
1:14.0	maybe you could show them.
1:16.0	Our website is BBCWorld Service.com slash 30 animals. In this episode number 22, Fish School and Wind Farm, we'll hear how schools of fish could help inspire a new type of wind farm.
1:39.0	There are actually two sorts of fish aggregations.
1:42.0	There are shoals of fish and there are schools of fish.
1:45.3	So what's the difference? Well a shoal is a group of fish that hang out together but
1:52.4	crucially aren't organized.
1:55.0	A school of fish on the other hand is highly structured,
1:59.0	with movements that are coordinated where all the fish are traveling in the same direction.
2:04.0	Oh, and just to confuse things, a group of fish can switch from shoaling to schooling and back again.
2:10.0	Schooling seems to have evolved as a defense mechanism against predators,
2:15.0	and in some instances can increase the efficiency of feeding.
2:19.0	What's even more amazing about schools of fish is that there's no leader.
	...

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