Schools

of Fish Schools of fish are large groups of fish that swim in coordinated, tightly-packed formation. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a defensive response to potential predators, providing camouflage and confusing predators with a unified motion. Schools of fish have also been observed to take advantage of the collective intelligence of the group to increase the efficiency of vital activities such as foraging, movement, and other behaviors. These schools may contain hundreds to thousands of individual fish from a variety of species, ranging from small freshwater fish to large ocean predators. The behaviors of fish within a school are also of great interest to scientists, as these behaviors may influence the development of social networks in a variety of species. The study of these schools can also help us better understand the larger marine environment, as well as the adaptive capabilities of fish.