Lecture 5: Fish Cognition and Behavior Flashcards
What is cognition in fish?
Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding, such as learning, memory, and problem-solving.
What is the relationship between brain size and behavior in fish?
Larger brain size is associated with enhanced cognitive abilities, such as learning and memory, but comes with energetic and reproductive costs.
What is the expensive-tissue hypothesis?
It suggests a trade-off between brain size and the size of other energy-demanding organs, such as the gut.
How was brain size experimentally studied in guppies?
Guppies were artificially selected for larger or smaller brain size, revealing cognitive benefits (e.g., learning tasks) and reproductive trade-offs.
What is reversal learning, and how is it used to test fish cognition?
Reversal learning tests cognitive flexibility by requiring fish to learn a new response after an earlier learned association is reversed.
What were the cognitive benefits observed in larger-brained guppies?
Larger-brained guppies showed superior performance in numerical learning and reversal learning tasks.
What costs were associated with larger brain size in fish?
Smaller gut size
Reduced reproductive output
Shortened lifespan
How does brain size influence mate choice in fish?
Larger-brained females showed more discerning mate choice, preferring males with more vibrant traits.
How can selection for larger brains disproportionately affect certain regions
Guppies selected for larger telencephalons showed cognitive benefits but reproductive costs, highlighting trade-offs between brain development and other life history trait
How does schooling behaviour relate to cognition in guppies?
No significant difference was found in boldness or swimming ability between strong and weak schooling lines
