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Small and large number discrimination in guppies.

Laura Piffer1, Christian Agrillo, Daniel C Hyde

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Fish, like human infants and primates, possess distinct mechanisms for processing numbers. They can compare large or small quantities but struggle with boundary comparisons, suggesting ancient numerical systems.

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Area of Science:

  • Comparative psychology
  • Animal cognition
  • Numerical cognition

Background:

  • Non-verbal numerical behavior in humans and primates involves precise (small quantities) and approximate (large quantities) systems.
  • A key distinction is the difficulty in comparing quantities across the small (<3-4) and large (>4) number boundary.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if these distinct numerical systems are present in fish (Poecilia reticulata), a distantly related species.
  • To determine if fish exhibit the same boundary comparison limitations observed in primates and human infants.

Main Methods:

  • Guppies were tested on their ability to discriminate between different quantities of objects.
  • Comparisons included large vs. large, small vs. small, and small vs. large number sets.
  • The effect of numerical distance on discrimination success was also assessed.

Main Results:

  • Fish successfully discriminated between large quantities (e.g., 5 vs. 10) and small quantities (e.g., 3 vs. 4).
  • They systematically failed to discriminate quantities straddling the small/large boundary (e.g., 3 vs. 5).
  • Discrimination improved when the numerical distance increased (e.g., 3 vs. 6, 3 vs. 9).

Conclusions:

  • The findings suggest that fish possess functionally distinct precise and approximate number systems, similar to humans and primates.
  • This indicates that the underlying mechanisms for numerical cognition may be evolutionarily ancient.
  • The observed pattern supports the hypothesis of conserved numerical processing mechanisms across diverse vertebrate species.