![]() ![]() This isn’t “counting” in the “one, two, three” sense-fish likely have little use for The Count’s prescribed methods-but it shows that fish do know the difference between these quantities. The preference for larger quantities supports the idea that fish are able to process quantitative information in order to be more successful foragers in the wild. Moreover, the evidence shows that the way piscine brains “count” is similar to way our own brains process numerical quantities, suggesting deeper evolutionary origins for one of our most essential cognitive skills.īuilding on the findings of a 2015 study conducted with guppies, recently published research in Animal Behavior shows that freshwater angelfish presented with two small quantities of food reliably chose the larger stack of snacks. Increasingly, though, scientists have shown that fish-often considered near the bottom of the spined-species hierarchy-are able to discern between discrete quantities much like their more cognitively complex counterparts. But counting has long been considered the purview of smarter species with higher levels of perceived consciousness, the Clever Hans horses and celebrity lab chimps of the animal kingdom. In the wild, counting allows individuals to join larger social groups, determine the number of mates available, and choose more plentiful food. Little did we know, that purple puppet was teaching us an essential cognitive survival technique. ![]() Most of us don’t think about the importance of counting beyond our Sesame Street days. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |