As more species become hospitalized in “smart” animal clubs, fish may be overlooked. Some archers were able Recognizes computer-generated images of human faces In a series of laboratory experiments, there is little scientific evidence as to how well a fish can recognize humans diving into the world of water.
However, some fish stood out to the team of scientists at Mediterranean research sites. All field seasons include some local marine creatures and follow a team of science divers. The fish will steal food carried by divers to use as experimental rewards. The team suspected that the animal could recognize a particular diver who had previously carried food, as the fish only continued to carry the other person while ignoring others.
After designing a series of tests, the team discovered that some fish can pull humans apart based on a portion of the diving gear. For more information about the survey results, please see Research published in the journal on February 18th Biology Letters.
Following the leader
For their appointment, a team from the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior in Germany conducted a series of experiments to see if wild fish were pulling people apart. This study was conducted in about 26.2 feet of water at a Mediterranean research site. Here, wild fish populations have become accustomed to humans. According to research co-author and Max Planck student Katin KasollerFish was “ambitious volunteers who could happily go back and forth.”
Training was the first experimental stage. The team tested whether fish could learn to follow Solar. She started by trying to attract the attention of local fish Wear a bright red vest and swim about 164 feet.. Over time, Solar removed the clues that marked her until she swam in plain diving gear, leaving her food hidden, and then gave her only fish after chasing her for 164 feet.
Wildfish participated in this study as an ambitious volunteer. Many people appeared on experimental tests every day, and scientists were able to recognize some fish by their physical characteristics. Credits: Tomasek, Soller, Jordan (2025) Biology Letters.
Of the dozens of fish species near the ocean station, two species are sea bream I was most pleased to be involved in these training sessions. Sea Bream is sold in fish markets around the world, and it surprised the team with their curiosity and motivation to learn.
“Once I got into the water, it was only a few seconds to see them swimming towards me.
The same individual fish also appeared every day to participate in lessons. Soller also named some of them.
“I had Alfie Bernie with two shiny silver scales on the back and a nip from the tail fin,” she says.
rear 12-day training periodabout 20 fish trained Soller and were sure to swim. She was also able to recognize some of them from their physical properties, like the missing part of the fins on Alfie’s tail. Identifying individual fish participating in the experiment will set the stage for the next experimental phase.
[ Related: New evidence suggests dogs may ‘picture’ objects in their minds, similarly to people. ]
Increase the number of antes
Second, these same fish convey Solar apart from Maelan Tomasek, a different diver, co-author of the study, and a doctoral student at Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior and Clermont University in France. It’s time to see if it’s possible.
Tomasek joined Soller for these dives Wetsuits and fins in more colours. Both divers began at the same time in the water and then swam in different directions.
On the first day, the fish continued on equal terms both Tomasek and Sora.
“We could see them having a hard time deciding who they’re going to chase,” Solar says.
Tomasek never fed the fish that followed him. From the second day, the number of fish following Soller began to increase significantly.
To ensure that fish are learning to recognize the correct divers, the team focused on Six fish to study individually. Four of the six showed strong positive learning curves in the experiment.
“This is a cool outcome, because it shows that the fish aren’t just chasing Katinka out of habit, but that it’s not because the other fish were there,” Tomasek said in a statement. “They were aware of both divers, tested each one and learned that Katinka produced rewards at the end of the swimming.”
However, when Soller and Tomasek wore the same diving gear and repeated the test, the fish were unable to convey them apart. According to the teamwhich shows that the fish are associated with diving gear, perhaps color differences with individual divers.
“Almost all fish have chromatic vision, so it’s not surprising that Sea Bream has learned to associate the correct divers based on patches of body color,” says Tomasek.
“It’s time for us to see them.”
Humans do this when they swim in the water. This is because the face is distorted by the diving mask. The difference between fins, wetsuits, masks and other diving gear is often the best way to recognize someone.
With more time, the fish may learn to pay attention to more subtle human traits, such as hands and hair. According to the teamobserving that wild fish can quickly learn to recognize individual human divers using specific cues, it is said that other fish species can recognize certain patterns and identify us. There will be more evidence.
[ Related: The ‘smart’ animal club keeps getting bigger. ]
“It won’t come [as] Navigating through complex worlds and interacting with countless different species every minute, these animals can recognize humans based on visual cues,” says co-author and biologist Alex Jordan. said in a statement. “I think the most surprising thing is that we’ll be surprised. [if] They can. It suggests that we may underestimate our cousins’ ability underwater. ”
“It may be strange to think of humans who share bonds with animals like fish sitting far away from us on evolutionary trees. “But the relationship between humans and animals is If you care about paying attention, you can overcome the evolutionary distance of millions of years. Now we know they are looking at us, that is what we do to make them It’s time to see it.”
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