Zeack News

London, Jun 17 : Fish are more clever than you thought, for a new study has found that although worlds apart, the way they learn could be closer to humans' way of thinking.

Researchers have found a common species of fish which is found across Europe, called nine-spined stickleback, to be the first animal to exhibit an important human social learning strategy.



The sticklebacks can compare the behaviour of other sticklebacks with their own experience and make choices that lead to better food supplies, found the study published in the 'Behavioral Ecology' journal.



According to the researchers, these fish might have an unusually sophisticated social learning capability not yet found in other animals, called a 'hill-climbing' strategy.



Lead author Dr Jeremy Kendal of Durham University said: "'Hill-climbing' strategies are widely seen in human society whereby advances in technology are down to people choosing the best technique through social learning and improving on it, resulting in cumulative culture.



"Small fish may have small brains but they still have some surprising cognitive abilities. But our results suggest brain size isn't everything when it comes to the capacity for social learning." For the study, 270 fish were caught using dip nets from Melton Brook in Leicester, and housed in aquariums in a laboratory. Z