Innovative behaviour in fish: Atlantic cod can learn to use an external tag to manipulate a self-feeder

This study describes how three individual fish, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.), developed a novel behaviour and learnt to use a dorsally attached external tag to activate a self-feeder. This behaviour was repeated up to several hundred times, and over time these fish fine-tuned the behaviour and mad...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animal Cognition
Main Authors: Millot, Sandie, Nilsson, Jonatan, Fosseidengen, Jan Erik, Begout, Marie-laure, Ferno, Anders, Braithwaite, Victoria A., Kristiansen, Tore S.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Heidelberg 2014
Subjects:
Innovation
Learning
Cognitive ability
Tool use
Atlantic cod
Food acquisition
atlantic cod
Gadus morhua
Online Access:https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00171/28217/26513.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0710-3
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00171/28217/
Description
Summary:This study describes how three individual fish, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.), developed a novel behaviour and learnt to use a dorsally attached external tag to activate a self-feeder. This behaviour was repeated up to several hundred times, and over time these fish fine-tuned the behaviour and made a series of goal-directed coordinated movements needed to attach the feeder’s pull string to the tag and stretch the string until the feeder was activated. These observations demonstrate a capacity in cod to develop a novel behaviour utilizing an attached tag as a tool to achieve a goal. This may be seen as one of the very few observed examples of innovation and tool use in fish.

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