Towards of a firmer explanation of large shoal formation, maintenance and collective reactions in marine fish

Avoiding predation is generally seen as the most common explanation for why animals aggregate. However, it remains questionable whether the existing theory provides a complete explanation of the functions of large shoals formation in marine fishes. Here, we consider how well the mechanisms commonly proposed to explain enhanced safety of group living prey explain fish shoals reaching very large sizes. By conceptually re-examining these mechanisms...