Fish Cognition and Consciousness

Allen, Colin

doi:10.1007/s10806-011-9364-9

Cited by 44 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…I will not survey the empirical literature on this issue here, rich and fascinating though it is (e.g. Bateson 1991;Allen 2004Allen , 2013Sneddon et al 2014;Adamo 2016). I simply want to argue that this is a case in which the role of ethical considerations in setting an appropriate burden of proof seems relatively straightforward.…”

Section: Risks Of Under-attribution: the Case Of Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Cognition and Human Values

Birch¹

2018

Philos. of Sci.

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Animal welfare scientists face an acute version of the problem of inductive risk, since they must choose whether or not to affirm attributions of mental states to animals in advisory contexts, knowing that their decisions hold significant consequences for animal welfare. In such contexts, the burden of proof should be sensitive to the moral consequences of error, but a framework for setting appropriate burdens of proof is lacking. Through reflection on two cases-the case of pain, and the case of cognitive enrichment-I arrive at a tentative general framework based on the principle of expected welfare maximization. I then discuss the limitations of this framework and the important questions it leaves open.

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Section: Risks Of Under-attribution: the Case Of Painmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Cognition and Human Values

Birch¹

2018

Philos. of Sci.

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“…In contrast to the more commonly employed rats and pigeons, however, an overall impression of a slow, limited cognitive capacity emerged. This may have contributed to the cultural myth that fish have a 3‐second memory that is oft‐repeated even today . In one early experiment, three goldfish were pitted against two rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) and made to complete a reward matching task.…”

Section: The Ecological Basis Of Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may have contributed to the cultural myth that fish have a 3-second memory that is oft-repeated even today. 3 In one early experiment, three goldfish were pitted against two rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and made to complete a reward matching task. One location awarded food 70% of the time, another only 30% of the time.…”

Section: The Ecological Basis Of Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the latter is mathematically a more appropriate response because it produces greater total reward payoff, it was concluded that monkeys were capable of making more 'rational' decisions. 3,5 However, a decision is only as rational as the context in which it is made, and what these experiments lacked was an understanding of the ecological and evolutionary forces under which decision-making processes develop. For example, aquatic environments are often highly variable.…”

Section: The Ecological Basis Of Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of cognition were traditionally conducted in the laboratory, using model species such as rats (Rattus norvegicus), pigeons (Columba livia), and, as described below, occasionally goldfish (Carassius auratus). 2,3 These studies taught us a great deal about the fundamental cognitive functions in animals and laid the foundational framework for the investigation of information processing. However, this approach bypassed the evolutionary and ecological context under which animals had been selected to learn information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changing tides: ecological and historical perspectives on fish cognition

Patton

Braithwaite

2015

WIRES Cognitive Science

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The capacity for specialization and radiation make fish an excellent group in which to investigate the depth and variety of animal cognition. Even though early observations of fish using tools predates the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees, fish cognition has historically been somewhat overlooked. However, a recent surge of interest is now providing a wealth of material on which to draw examples, and this has required a selective approach to choosing the research described below. Our goal is to illustrate the necessity for basing cognitive investigations on the ecological and evolutionary context of the species at hand. We also seek to illustrate the importance of ecology and the environment in honing a range of sensory systems that allow fish to glean information and support informed decision-making. The various environments and challenges with which fish interact require equally varied cognitive skills, and the solutions that fish have developed are truly impressive. Similarly, we illustrate how common ecological problems will frequently produce common cognitive solutions. Below, we focus on four topics: spatial learning and memory, avoiding predators and catching prey, communication, and innovation. These are used to illustrate how both simple and sophisticated cognitive processes underpin much of the adaptive behavioral flexibility exhibited throughout fish phylogeny. Never before has the field had such a wide array of interdisciplinary techniques available to access both cognitive and mechanistic processes underpinning fish behavior. This capacity comes at a critical time to predict and manage fish populations in an era of unprecedented global change.

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