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Abstract
Access to information is a key advantage of grouping. Although
experienced animals can lead others to solve problems, less is known
about whether partially informed individuals can pool experiences to
overcome challenges collectively. Here we provide evidence of such
‘experience-pooling’. We presented shoals of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
with a two-stage foraging task requiring them to find and access hidden
food. Individual fish were either inexperienced or had knowledge of
just one of the stages. Shoals containing individuals trained in each of
the stages pooled their expertise, allowing more fish to access the
food, and to do so more rapidly, compared with other shoal compositions.
Strong social effects were identified: the presence of experienced
individuals increased the likelihood of untrained fish completing each
stage. These findings demonstrate that animal groups can integrate
individual experience to solve multi-stage problems, and have
implications for our understanding of social foraging, migration and
social systems.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 0135 |
Journal | Nature Ecology and Evolution |
Volume | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 18 Apr 2017 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Fish pool their experience to solve problems collectively'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
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Profiles
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Michael Munro Webster
- School of Biology - Senior Lecturer
- Centre for Biological Diversity
- Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences
- Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution
Person: Academic - Teaching