Gerlotto François auteur aut IRD Bertrand Sophie auteur aut IRD Bez Nicolas auteur aut IRD Gutierrez M. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Most pelagic fish live in schools. To allow fast reactions, for instance to predator attacks, these collective structures require behavioural mechanisms authorizing fast, coordinated movements. Considering the large number of individuals constituting a school of small pelagic fish, a crucial premise to coordinated movements and school reorganization is an ability to transfer quickly and efficiently information across the whole collective structure. We observed anchovy school movements and reactions to sea-lion attacks while the ship was drifting in Peruvian waters. The main process of information transfer we could observe was that of waves of agitation crossing large anchovy schools. The average speed of these waves (7.45 m s(-1)) was much greater than the average 0.3 m s(-1) school speeds measured during this experiment. The internal organization of each school modified dramatically after the waves of agitation had crossed them. Changes in school external morphology and internal structure were described and measured using geostatistics. Our results show that information transfer is a crucial process for the cohesion and plasticity of schools. As such, it allows efficient reactions of schools of pelagic fish to variations in their immediate environment in general, and to predation in particular. (c) 2006 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. specialized anchovy communication fish behaviour pelagic predation schooling sea lions 040 63 8 1405-1417 2006 1054-3139 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010037613 10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.04.023 1054-3139 [F A010037613] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010037613 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2025-01/010037613.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2006-10-06 2025-01-03 fdi:010037613 fre