Fish much smarter than we imagined

=46ish much smarter than we imagined=20
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LUCY BANNERMAN October 02 2003=20
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Copyright =A9 2003 Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
Reserved =20
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=46IRST they dismissed the three-second memory as a goldfish myth. Now
scientists say that as well as being brain food for us, fish use their
brains to find food themselves.

Research by Phil Gee, a psychologist from Plymouth University, has
shown that fish may not be the dunces of the food chain after all.
In a three-month experiment, his research team found they could train
goldfish to collect food at certain times of the day. Fish were taught
to nudge a lever that released food into their bowls. According to the
findings, the goldfish learned to push the lever when they were
hungry.

Over time, researchers adjusted the lever, reducing the availability
of food until it was dispensed for just one hour every day.
The scientists claim that as the fish adapted to their new routine
they became more attentive to the lever as feeding hour approached.
Rather than having a mere three-second memory, Mr Gee said the
experiment revealed that the aquatic brain knows when it is lunchtime.
He said: "The fish worked out that if they hit the lever around that
time, they would get food. Their activity around the lever increased
enormously just before the set hour when their food was dispensed. But
then, if no food came out, they stopped pressing the lever when the
hour was up.

"It shows that they are probably able to adapt to changes in their
circumstances, like any other small animals and birds. It tells us
that they are able to learn."
It is hoped the discovery could enable fish farmers in the developing
world to monitor their stocks without the need for expensive
equipment.

Studies in Norway have already found that fish can be trained to
return to a feeding area at a certain time after those released into a
fjord came back when they heard a particular sound.
European eel, meanwhile, are heading for extinction with populations
at just 1% of the level they were in 1980, researchers said yesterday.
The decline of the species is so dramatic that the European Commission
is expected to issue a directive within the next year aimed at
regulating the eel fishing industry and setting habitat standards for
conserving the remaining populations. Latest estimates of eel stocks
were presented last week at a meeting of the International Council for
Exploration of the Seas in Tallinn, Estonia.
=46IRST they dismissed the three-second memory as a goldfish myth. Now
scientists say that as well as being brain food for us, fish use their
brains to find food themselves.

Research by Phil Gee, a psychologist from Plymouth University, has
shown that fish may not be the dunces of the food chain after all.
In a three-month experiment, his research team found they could train
goldfish to collect food at certain times of the day. Fish were taught
to nudge a lever that released food into their bowls. According to the
findings, the goldfish learned to push the lever when they were
hungry.

Over time, researchers adjusted the lever, reducing the availability
of food until it was dispensed for just one hour every day.
The scientists claim that as the fish adapted to their new routine
they became more attentive to the lever as feeding hour approached.
Rather than having a mere three-second memory, Mr Gee said the
experiment revealed that the aquatic brain knows when it is lunchtime.
He said: "The fish worked out that if they hit the lever around that
time, they would get food. Their activity around the lever increased
enormously just before the set hour when their food was dispensed. But
then, if no food came out, they stopped pressing the lever when the
hour was up.
"It shows that they are probably able to adapt to changes in their
circumstances, like any other small animals and birds. It tells us
that they are able to learn."
It is hoped the discovery could enable fish farmers in the developing
world to monitor their stocks without the need for expensive
equipment.

Studies in Norway have already found that fish can be trained to
return to a feeding area at a certain time after those released into a
fjord came back when they heard a particular sound.
European eel, meanwhile, are heading for extinction with populations
at just 1% of the level they were in 1980, researchers said yesterday.
The decline of the species is so dramatic that the European Commission
is expected to issue a directive within the next year aimed at
regulating the eel fishing industry and setting habitat standards for
conserving the remaining populations. Latest estimates of eel stocks
were presented last week at a meeting of the International Council for
Exploration of the Seas in Tallinn, Estonia.








"Man is the most dangerous, destructive, selfish,=20
and unethical animal on earth."=20
Michael W. Fox, Scientific Director and former=20
Vice President,=20
Humane Society of the United States.

"The life of an ant and that of my child=20
should be granted equal consideration,=20
for what does it really pain man to do so"
Pete Who. 2003=20

"Look deep into the eyes of any animal, and then=20
for a moment, trade places,=20
their life becomes as precious as yours and you=20
become as vulnerable as them.=20
Now smile if you believe all animals deserve=20
our respect and our protection, for in a way,=20
they are us, and we are them."
-Philip Ochoa Board Member, ALL FOR ANIMALS=20