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Cognitive flexibility in a Tanganyikan bower-building cichlid, Aulonocranus dewindti
Maëlan Tomasek1,2,3, Midori Stark4,5, Valérie Dufour6
1Cognitive and Social Ethology Team, UMR 7247, PRC, BAT 40, Campus CNRS, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRAE, CNRS, IFCE, Université de Tours, 23 Rue de Loess, 67037, Strasbourg, France. maelan.tomasek@hotmail.fr.
Animal Cognition
|October 18, 2023
Summary
Cognitive flexibility in wild cichlid fish is rare. Some Aulonocranus dewindti fish showed individual differences in adapting decision rules for nest maintenance.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Cognitive ecology
- Ichthyology
Background:
- Cognitive flexibility is crucial for adaptation but understudied in wild fish.
- Aulonocranus dewindti cichlids maintain spawning bowers by removing objects.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate cognitive flexibility in wild cichlid fish.
- Determine if Aulonocranus dewindti can modify nest maintenance decision rules.
Main Methods:
- Observed spontaneous object removal preferences in cichlid bowers.
- Tested individual fish on a choice-against-preference task for bower maintenance.
Main Results:
- Cichlids initially preferred removing snail shells over stones.
- No overall group flexibility was observed, but individual variation in rule modification was present.
- Some fish demonstrated self-regulatory inhibition when choosing against preference.
Conclusions:
- Bower-building cichlids offer a potential model for studying wild animal cognition.
- Individual differences in cognitive flexibility exist within this species.
- Further research can explore self-regulation and decision-making in these fish.
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