Application of system theory to modeling of fish behavior

The construction of a mathematical model of fish behavior in the case where a fish school consists of many individuals is considered. The basic assumption for model building is that the schooling behavior of fish can be decomposed into two components: the motion of a representative of the school and the variation of the school form. The motion of the representative is expressed by a physical model, in which the main causes for the motion are described as the external forces. The variation of the school form is expressed by an autoregressive model. The parameters included in the model are estimated by using time-series data sampled from video image data recorded in a water tank experiment. The validity of the model is examined on the basis of computer simulation