Fish Can Learn and Remember

[Guest guest]

YET AGAIN SCIENCE IS CONFIRMING WHAT VEDIC CIVILIZTION HAS ALWAYS

KNOWN.

Fish 'Very Capable Of

Learning And Remembering'

By Robert Matthews

Science Correspondent

The Telegraph - UK

10-3-4

 

If you thought fish were cold, wet creatures who forget everything

in three seconds flat, think again. Scientists have found they are

fast learners, carry mental maps around in their heads - and can

retain memories for months.

 

Swimming gormlessly around in their bowls or tanks, fish have long

been dismissed as dunces compared with "higher" animals such as

rats, cats, dogs and primates. This view is now being challenged by

findings that could re-ignite the debate over the cruelty of

angling. Tests on fish in aquaria at Oxford University have shown

that despite their tiny brains, they possess cognitive abilities

outstripping those of some small mammals.

 

Dr Theresa Burt de Perera made the discovery using blind Mexican

cave fish, which rely on subtle changes in pressure to detect the

presence of objects around them.

 

In experiments, Dr Burt de Perera found that the fish did more than

merely avoid bumping into objects in their tank. They built a

detailed map of their surroundings, memorising the obstacles in them

within a few hours. Once stored in their brains, the fish used

their "mental map" to spot changes in the obstacles around them - a

feat that defeats hamsters.

 

In one test, involving obstacles arranged in a specific order, the

fish proved capable of memorising the order and quickly spotted when

Dr Burt de Perera swapped obstacles around.

 

According to Dr Burt de Perera, the findings - which appear in the

current issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society - show that

fish are under-estimated.

 

"The public perception of them is that they are pea-brained

numbskulls that can't remember things for more than a few seconds,"

she told the Telegraph. "We're now finding that they are very

capable of learning and remembering, and possess a range of

cognitive skills that would surprise many people."

 

Laboratory tests on other fish have found that they can store

memories for many months, confounding the belief that they forget

everything after a few seconds.

 

Dr Culum Brown at the University of Edinburgh has found that

Australian crimson spotted rainbowfish, which learnt to escape from

a net in their tank, remembered how they did it 11 months later.

This is equivalent to a human recalling a lesson learnt 40 years

ago.

 

Dr Burt de Perera's findings have been welcomed by fish-lovers as

proof that their pets can do more than blow bubbles. "They are

totally misunderstood," said Karen Youngs, the editor of Practical

Fishkeeping. "We know from our readers that fish can recognise their

owners, and some will go into a sulk if someone else tries to feed

them."

 

Mrs Youngs added that the research may mean that fish-owners have to

make their aquaria a bit more interesting for their occupants: "We

know that fish such as oscars do enjoy having a table-tennis ball to

bash about."

 

Mounting evidence for fish intelligence is likely to re-ignite the

controversy over angling, which has focused mainly on whether fish

can feel pain. "This research moves the debate along, by showing

that fish aren't just swimming vegetables," said Dawn Carr, the

director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "The more

we find out about fish, the less likely people are to feel

comfortable about impaling them on a hook for fun."

 

Anglers dismissed such views. "Their intelligence just adds to the

interest - it would be awful if people were only catching fish that

were stupid," said Rodney Coldron, a spokesman for the National

Federation of Anglers. "I think it might attract more people to

fishing, by showing it's more of an even contest."

 

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.

http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/03/nfish

03.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/10/03/ixhome.html