“Fish are capable of all the main kinds of learning that have been reported in mammals.“ – Dr. Maria Martina Quaggiotto, Lecturer in Ecology, University of Stirling.
Signs of intelligent life in the sea
There’s a little fish that’s common in the Atlantic Ocean called the frillfin goby. As with most fish, there is nothing about the goby to immediately suggest any special abilities or intelligence. Yet gobies do something so remarkable it has changed the way scientists view fish intelligence.
Gobies spend a lot of time in tidal pools, left behind when the tide is out. They are essentially trapped in those pools until the tide comes back in. Often, the gobies jump from pool to pool, but how do they know where the next pool is and how far to jump?
Scientists have researched this question for a number of years and have concluded that the gobies are able to memorize the positions of the pools so they know exactly where to jump. This ability to make a mental map demonstrates that gobies (and likely other fish) have good memories and can determine where they are in relation to their surroundings (referred to as “spatial learning”). These abilities are considered indicators of intelligence in animals.
Many people assume that fish are less intelligent than mammals, but it turns out that isn’t true at all – they are actually way smarter than you probably give them credit for. See the Mirror Test crossover video on SciShow Psych here: https://youtu.be/YapkNuBcBT0 Hosted by: Stefan Chin and Brit Garner SciShow has a spinoff podcast!
Fish have also been found to use tools.
The tuskfish holds clams in its mouth and bangs it on rocks to crack the shell and eat the clam, using the rock as an anvil.
The wrasse, a small fish found in tropical reefs, can recognize itself in a mirror – an ability suggesting self-awareness previously thought to be confined to humans and a few other animals such as primates and dolphins.
Do fish have personalities? Marine biologist Even Moland’s research has taken him around the world, from the Great Barrier Reef to Skagerrak, Norway. In studying the behaviour and movement of fish and lobsters – how they live, where they hide, which ones are caught by fishers, and which ones escape to obtain large sizes and old age – he’s also learning how marine populations can be protected.
Fish might be smarter than you think. Blub Blub. Watch more: “What’s Hiding Deep Within The Ocean?” ►► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Zv3OOhQEQ Subscribe: https://bit.ly/SubLifeNoggin | Get your exclusive Life Noggin merch: http://keeponthinking.co Follow Life Noggin! Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifenoggin/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifenoggin Watch More Ocean Life Noggin Videos: How Did Deep-Sea Creatures Evolve To Look So Scary?
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