Long‐term memory retention in a wild fish species “Labroides dimidiatus” eleven months after an aversive event
Zegni Triki & Redouan Bshary
| Résumé |
Memory is essential to enhance future survival and reproduction as
it helps in storing and retrieving useful information to solve
particular environmental problems. However, we lack quantitative
evidence on how far animals in the wild can maintain given
information for extended periods without reinforcement. Here, we
document correlative evidence of cleaner fish Labroides
dimidiatus remembering being caught in a barrier net for up to
11 months. In 2015, about 60% of cleaners from one large isolated
reef had been used for laboratory experiments and then returned to
their site of capture. Eleven months later, 50% of cleaners at the
same site showed an unusual hiding response to the placement of the
barrier net, in contrast to three control sites where no cleaners
had been caught during the last 2 years. The results suggest that a
single highly aversive event (i.e., being caught in a barrier net)
resulted in cleaners storing long‐term crucial information
that allowed them to avoid being caught again. Our results further
our knowledge of fish cognitive capacities and long‐term
memory retention. |
| Mots-clés |
cognition; escape behaviour; female cleaner fish; learning; memory retention |
| Citation | Triki, Z., & Bshary, R. (2019). Long‐term memory retention in a wild fish species “Labroides dimidiatus” eleven months after an aversive event. Ethology, 126(3), 372-376. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 10-2019 |
| Nom du périodique | Ethology |
| Volume | 126 |
| Numéro | 3 |
| Pages | 372-376 |
| URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eth.12978 |