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Social learning in Cartilaginous fish (stingrays Potamotrygon falkneri)

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Abstract

Social learning is considered one of the hallmarks of cognition. Observers learn from demonstrators that a particular behavior pattern leads to a specific consequence or outcome, which may be either positive or negative. In the last few years, social learning has been studied in a variety of taxa including birds and bony fish. To date, there are few studies demonstrating learning processes in cartilaginous fish. Our study shows that the cartilaginous fish freshwater stingrays (Potamotrygon falkneri) are capable of social learning and isolates the processes involved. Using a task that required animals to learn to remove a food reward from a tube, we found that observers needed significantly (P < 0.01) fewer trials to learn to extract the reward than demonstrators. Furthermore, observers immediately showed a significantly (P < 0.05) higher frequency of the most efficient “suck and undulation” strategy exhibited by the experienced demonstrators, suggesting imitation. Shedding light on social learning processes in cartilaginous fish advances the systematic comparison of cognition between aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates and helps unravel the evolutionary origins of social cognition.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the Vienna Zoo for the experimental framework requirements and their support. Furthermore, we want to thank the animal keeper team in the Aquarium house who supported and enriched this project with their help and ideas. We especially would like to thank Prof. M. J. Gutnick for his critical review of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Maxingstrasse 13 b, 1130, Wien, Austria

    Kerstin E. Thonhauser & Michael J. Kuba

  2. Institut of Zoology, Karl- Franzens University Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Kerstin E. Thonhauser & Karl Kral

  3. Department of Neurobiology, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Science, Hebrew University, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel

    Tamar Gutnick & Michael J. Kuba

  4. Division of Rheumatology, Clinic of Internal Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Währingergürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Ruth A. Byrne

  5. Departments of Psychology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-0900, USA

    Gordon M. Burghardt

Authors
  1. Kerstin E. Thonhauser
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  2. Tamar Gutnick
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  3. Ruth A. Byrne
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  4. Karl Kral
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  5. Gordon M. Burghardt
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  6. Michael J. Kuba
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Kuba.

Additional information

Kerstin E. Thonhauser and Tamar Gutnick: Equal contribution.

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Thonhauser, K.E., Gutnick, T., Byrne, R.A. et al. Social learning in Cartilaginous fish (stingrays Potamotrygon falkneri). Anim Cogn 16, 927–932 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0625-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0625-z

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