Once again we learn that nature isn't as dumb as some like to suggest. If you live in an isolation tank it must all be terribly shocking to see there is intelligent life out there. Go figure.
The discovery of this sophisticated type of social learning in sticklebacks, known as a "hill-climbing" strategy, suggests that such cognitive tricks might be more common among non-human animals than previously thought.
The study also shows that big brains like humans' might not be the only way to produce a cumulative culture within a species.
"Small fish may have small brains but they still have some surprising cognitive abilities," said Jeremy Kendal from Durham University's anthropology department. "Hill-climbing strategies are widely seen in human society whereby advances in technology are down to people choosing the best technique through social learning and improving on it, resulting in cumulative culture. But our results suggest brain size isn't everything when it comes to the capacity for social learning."
Kevin Laland of St Andrews University, who also took part in the study, said: "Nine-spined sticklebacks may be the geniuses of the fish world. It's remarkable that a form of learning found to be optimal in humans is exactly what these fish do."
