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Fish can infer social rank by observation alone

Author

Listed:
  • Logan Grosenick

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University
    Center for the Study of Language and Information)

  • Tricia S. Clement

    (Stanford University
    eBay, Inc.)

  • Russell D. Fernald

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

Steering clear of trouble Fish are not famous for being smart, yet they can be added to the list of animals that show the rudiments of logical thinking. Transitive inference, the ability to deduce unknown relationships from knowledge of known relationships, is essential to logical reasoning. This ability is seen as an important step in a child's development, and similar capabilities are found in nonhuman primates, rats and birds. Astatotilapia burtoni, a territorial fish in which reproductive success of males depends on their status in 'fish society', can learn an implied hierarchy among other unfamiliar fish by watching fights between them. Remarkably, fish do this indirectly, as 'bystanders', with no direct reinforcement. This behaviour calls into question previous models of transitive inference and suggests that these fish have evolved distinct mechanisms for making inferences in situations specific to their survival and reproduction. The cover image shows an A. burtoni male.

Suggested Citation

  • Logan Grosenick & Tricia S. Clement & Russell D. Fernald, 2007. "Fish can infer social rank by observation alone," Nature, Nature, vol. 445(7126), pages 429-432, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:445:y:2007:i:7126:d:10.1038_nature05511
    DOI: 10.1038/nature05511
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Polonioli, 2013. "Re-assessing the Heuristics debate," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 12(2), pages 263-271, November.
    2. Ivan D Chase & W Brent Lindquist, 2016. "The Fragility of Individual-Based Explanations of Social Hierarchies: A Test Using Animal Pecking Orders," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Takashi Hotta & Kentaro Ueno & Yuya Hataji & Hika Kuroshima & Kazuo Fujita & Masanori Kohda, 2020. "Transitive inference in cleaner wrasses (Labroides dimidiatus)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-13, August.
    4. Greg Jensen & Fabian Muñoz & Yelda Alkan & Vincent P Ferrera & Herbert S Terrace, 2015. "Implicit Value Updating Explains Transitive Inference Performance: The Betasort Model," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-27, September.

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