Prey Localization by Surface Wave Ray-tracing: Fish Track Bugs Like Oceanographers Track Storms

Surface-feeding fish accurately determine direction and distance to the center of a concentric wave stimulus, even if only a single, short lasting wave train is presented. It has been suggested that one cue used by these fish to localize the wave center is the distance dependent frequency modulation of the initial part of a wave stimulus. Here we show how the distance information contained in the fractional frequency change of a capillary wave group can be decoded. We suggest that wave source localization in surface-feeding fish in part is based on a principal similar to that used by oceanographers to track storms by the frequency change of forerunners of swell.