Study finds fish school ‘graduates’ pool their knowledge

FISH pool their experience to solve problems together, according to new research from Scots scientists.

The University of St Andrews study shows that fish which use ‘experience pooling’ are better at survival.

Experienced members of the group take on leadership roles when completing specific parts of a task, such as finding food.

Some may know where to find food but not how to access it, while others might know how to get at it but not where it is hidden. This then makes the group of fish stronger as a whole.

To prove the theory, scientists presented shoals of sticklebacks with a two-part problem.

They had to first find some hidden food, then work out how to access it. The various fish were either completely inexperienced or had only experienced one of the stages.

Dr Mike Webster, lecturer in behavioural and evolutionary biology, said: ‘We found that, in shoals that comprised individuals trained in each of the stages, more fish did indeed access the food, and did so more rapidly, compared with other shoal composition which only contained fish trained to one or to neither of two parts of the problem.

‘Supporting our idea that leadership played a role in this, we found strong effects of having experienced members in the group, with the presence of these greatly increasing the likelihood of untrained fish completing each part of the problem.’

This research can help scientists gain a greater understanding into how animals use their environment and how they navigate and migrate.

Professor Kevin Laland of the university’s School of Biology said: ‘There may be lessons to be learned for human behaviour, too.’