Forewordстатья из журнала
Аннотация: A quick survey of a randomly chosen sample of friends and relatives shows that when people think about animal learning, it is almost always mammals that come to mind (Pavlov's dogs, rats in Skinner boxes, young chimpanzees learning from their mother how to fish for termites and so on), perhaps with the odd pigeon thrown in. They are unlikely to think of fishes, yet as the eight reviews in this special edition of Fish and Fisheries show, the learning capabilities of fish are impressive and entirely comparable with those of land vertebrates, including mammals. Teleost fish share a common evolutionary ancestor with land vertebrates, so understanding what and how fish learn should elucidate this process in other vertebrates. In addition, fish (small freshwater and inter-tidal species in particular) have proved an excellent model system for studying learning processes, being highly amenable to experimental study both in the laboratory and in the field. For these reasons, there has been a recent burgeoning of interest in learning in fishes. This has generated an accumulating body of evidence about the sophistication and complexity of the processes involved, the subject matter of this timely review of the topic. This area of renewed interest has largely been pioneered by a new generation of young and extremely gifted researchers, many of whom have contributed to this volume. Between them, the eight reviews illustrate, on one hand, the various different processes or mechanisms that underlie learning and memory in fishes and, on the other, the various different functional contexts in which these mechanisms act to adapt an individual's behaviour to its circumstances. On the topic of learning processes, Kevin Warburton considers the applicability of general laws of learning in the context of foraging behaviour (such as the effect of intensity and frequency of reinforcement on associative learning, or the role of anticipation of an unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning). Lucy Odling-Smee and Victoria Braithwaite present clear evidence that fish are capable of spatial learning, using both landmarks and mental maps to develop flexible, learned orientation strategies. This same topic is taken up by Cristina Broglio, Fernando Rodríguez and Cosme Salas, who additionally present compelling evidence that the spatial behaviour of fishes depends on a particular part of the forebrain (the lateral pallium) that is thought to be homologous to the mammalian hippocampus. Many fish have the capacity to distinguish between conspecifics on the basis of experience during previous encounters, and this is reviewed by Siân Griffiths. For example, minnows prefer to associate with individuals that they know from past experience to be poor competitors and fathead minnows show more cooperative antipredator behaviour when schooling with familiar as opposed to unfamiliar conspecifics. Dan Hoare and Jens Krause describe aspects of shoaling behaviour such as rates of fission and fusion that determine the opportunity for social learning/information transfer within shoals. Culum Brown and Kevin Laland review the extensive evidence for social learning in fishes (local enhancement, guided learning and observational conditioning). Like other animals, fish face many challenges as they go about their lives. For example, they need to avoid being eaten by predators, to find food, to locate mates and to assess and overcome competitors. The reviews in this volume provide many examples of how the processes outlined in the previous paragraph enable fish to meet these challenges. Jennifer Kelley and Anne Magurran discuss how learning during interactions with predators can improve fishes ability to detect, assess and evade predators, and to escape if attacked. Grant Brown describes a number of studies showing how fish can use chemical cues (from conspecifics and heterospecifics) to learn about novel predators and to assess the threat posed by familiar ones. Avoidance of predation can also be enhanced by appropriate use of spatial memory (Odling-Smee and Braithwaite) and of social learning (Brown and Laland). As far as foraging is concerned, the learning processes identified by Warburton can lead to marked and rapid improvements in foraging efficiency and the various aspects of social learning described by Brown and Laland can make fish more efficient at finding and handling food. Identifying appropriate mates can also be enhanced by social learning (Brown and Laland, Hoar and Krause). Likewise, ‘eavesdropping’ on aggressive encounters between conspecifics promotes the assessment of competitors (Brown and Laland) and territorial disputes are settled more quickly when the individuals concerned are familiar to each other (Griffiths). Together, these chapters demonstrate the striking similarity between fish and other vertebrates in the learning processes that shape their behaviour and their neural basis (Warburton, Broglio et al.). They also emphasise the fact that fish of different species or populations are predisposed to learn specific associations appropriate for the particular problems that they encounter (Kelley and Magurran, Odling-Smee and Braithwaite). Several of the reviews draw attention to possible practical applications of the learning processes they describe. For example, farmed fish can be trained by operant conditioning to feed themselves according to appetite (Warburton). Both individual training (Warburton) and social learning (Brown and Laland, Griffiths) can enhance the chances of survival of hatchery-reared fish released into the wild. Together, the various chapters in this series describe the many and varied learning processes observed in fish, and how these generate flexible, adaptive behaviour in variable environments. Over 70 species belonging to 30 genera are referred to throughout; therefore, it provides an informative and authoritative summary of the key areas of current research into learning and memory in fishes.
Год издания: 2003
Авторы: Felicity A. Huntingford
Издательство: Wiley
Источник: Fish and Fisheries
Ключевые слова: Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
Открытый доступ: bronze
Том: 4
Выпуск: 3
Страницы: 197–198