It began in ponds and rivers : charting the beginnings of the ecology of fish cognition

• Published in: Frontiers in Veterinary Science
• Main Authors: Healy, Susan D., Patton, B. Wren
• Other Authors: University of St Andrews. Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences, University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Veterinary Science; Cognitive ecology; Fish; Homing pigeon; Navigation; Predation; Spatial cognition; GC Oceanography; QH301 Biology; GC; QH301; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10023/24943; https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.823143

But fish cognitive ecology did not begin in rivers and streams. Rather, one of the starting points for work on fish cognitive ecology was work done on the use of visual cues by homing pigeons. Prior to working with fish, Victoria Braithwaite helped to establish that homing pigeons rely not just on magnetic and olfactory cues but also on visual cues for successful return to their home loft. Simple, elegant experiments on homing established Victoria's ability to develop experimental manipulations to examine the role of visual cues in navigation by fish in familiar areas. This work formed the basis of a rich seam of work whereby a fish's ecology was used to propose hypotheses and predictions as to preferred cue use, and then cognitive abilities in a variety of fish species, from model systems (Atlantic salmon and sticklebacks) to the Panamanian Brachyraphis episcopi. Cognitive ecology in fish led to substantial work on fish pain and welfare, but was never left behind, with some of Victoria's last work addressed to determining the neural instantiation of cognitive variation. Peer reviewed