Webb scales fast-start maneuvers.

The aim of this classic paper by Paul Webb (Webb, 1976) was to investigate the effect of size on fast-start performance and to use the results in order to make some theoretical considerations on predator–prey interactions. Until the 1970s, most work on fish swimming had focused on steady conditions, with the goal of studying the relationship between the energetics, performance and kinematics of in-line swimming. Work by Richard Bainbridge in the late 1950s and early 1960s was fundamental in establishing the relationship between fish size, tail beat frequency, amplitude and speed [(Bainbridge, 1958); recently review by Webb (Webb, 2006)] as well as speed and stamina (Bainbridge, 1959; Bainbridge, 1962) while J. R. Brett’s work (Brett, 1964) on salmonids provided the basis for the energetics of steady locomotion in fish, to which Webb himself provided a major contribution (Webb, 1971a; Webb, 1971b). Fundamental to these studies was the development of a number of experimental techniques such as swim tunnels and wheels that allowed researchers to monitor fish swimming continuously. Until the mid-1970s, however, very little was known about unsteady swimming in fishes, such as turning maneuvers and fast-starts. Yet, unsteady swimming is the basis of many fundamental behaviors in fish, from catching prey and avoiding predators to social interactions.