For human beings, counting is as simple as 1-2-3. But for animals? Proof is mounting that other primates, and even birds and fish, can discriminate between quantities differing by only one product, at least as much as a quantity of 5. Stingrays and cichlids are likewise able to distinguish between quantities differing by simply one item, a brand-new research study released today (March 31) in Scientific Reports suggests.” Some research has been done on the numerical capabilities of bony fish, however absolutely nothing was known for sharks and stingrays,” states Vera Schluessel, a cognition scientist at the University of Bonn in Germany. She and her co-authors trained eight freshwater stingrays (Potamotrygon motoro) to associate colors with relative amounts. The group likewise trained eight bony fish (Pseudotropheus zebra cichlids) to act as a comparison. All of the fish were taught to recognize blue as corresponding to “more” and yellow to “less.” The fish or stingrays went into an experimental arena where they saw a test stimulus: a card showing a set of geometric shapes (square, circle, triangle) in either blue or yellow. In a separate compartment of the tank, the fish were then provided with an option stimulus: 2 gates showing various varieties of shapes in the same color. When the fish were presented with blue shapes, they were supposed to swim towards the gate with another shape than the test stimulus image. When provided yellow shapes, the animals were supposed to choose the gate with one less. Proper choices were rewarded with a food pellet. 3 of the 8 stingrays and 6 cichlids effectively learned to finish this task. The experimental setup for the cichlids: 1) begin box, 2) speculative area, 3) guillotine door, 4) decision areas, 5) stimuli, 6) feeding tubes, 7) projectorSchluessel et al. (2022 )After the fish were successfully trained, the researchers wanted to evaluate how well they move this training to unique situations. They provided the animals with three yellow or blue shapes– a number not previously used in any job– and offered them the alternative to choose between four or 2 shapes. Both the cichlids and the stingrays chose correctly: They swam toward two yellow shapes or towards four blue shapes. Giorgio Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trento, Italy, who was not included in the research study, writes in an e-mail to The Scientist that the “amazing” outcomes “validate previous proof for arithmetic operations in types like birds (newborn chicks) and bees, and it stands out that they have the ability to show generalization of the rule add/subtract 1 to unique numerosities (various from the training ones).” In a different experiment, the scientists checked whether the fish had actually simply discovered to pick the greatest or least expensive variety of shapes provided, depending on the color. This wasnt the case: after the fish saw three blue shapes, they swam towards an image revealing 4 blue shapes, instead of one revealing 5– a surprising result, states Schluessel. In the training stage, the fish could have fixed the task by merely swimming toward the greatest or the most affordable quantity, as there was never the choice to pick in between “plus one” or “plus two.” The experimental setup for the stingrays: 1) begin box, 2) experimental location, 3) guillotine door, 4) door with test stimulus, 5) decision locations, 6) option stimulus cardsSchluessel et al. (2022 )” When we did provide the choice in the transfer test, they went with the plus-one or minus-one option. They in fact learned the guideline I require to go to one more or one things less, instead of finding out I require to go to the higher or lower number of things. … This revealed that they included or deducted,” Schluessel states. The paper “reveals that if you have a setting like they have– a very artificial, really standardized, very simple setting– they can act in such a way that looks like including and deducting,” says Joachim Frommen, a behavioral ecologist at Manchester Metropolitan University who was not associated with the study. “Its some good evidence that something which can be translated as counting is occurring.” Rafael Núñez, a cognitive researcher at the University of California, San Diego, who was not associated with the study, regards the research study as “well carried out,” including that “the problem is the interpretation.” For him, the paper provides info about what he called “quantical cognition”– the ability to distinguish between amounts– in a 2017 paper. According to Núñez, math or counting doesnt have to be conjured up to explain the lead to today paper. “I might explain this outcome by … a fish or stingray having the affective ability to discriminate quantities: in this case, this will be to learn how to select, in the case of blue, the most comparable but more, and when it comes to yellow, the most comparable however less. Theres no arithmetic here, simply more and less and comparable.” Schluessel counters that the experimental setup required the fish to carry out a sophisticated sequence of tasks: recognize a number and color, keep in mind both of those, and base their choice on that memory. For her, the results show that “Its very plainly the plus one or minus one decision, instead of simply selecting based on basically … I think that the research study quite plainly shows that they did, in truth, have a mathematical understanding that in fact permits to subtract and include within that small number space.”
Evidence is mounting that other primates, and even birds and fish, can discriminate in between quantities differing by only one product, at least up to a quantity of 5. The fish or stingrays entered a speculative arena where they saw a test stimulus: a card revealing a set of geometric shapes (square, circle, triangle) in either blue or yellow. In a different compartment of the tank, the fish were then provided with a choice stimulus: two gates revealing various numbers of shapes in the same color. When the fish were presented with blue shapes, they were supposed to swim toward the gate with one more shape than the test stimulus image. In a different experiment, the scientists checked whether the fish had simply discovered to choose the greatest or lowest number of shapes presented, depending on the color.
