People often attribute mental complexity to cats and dogs but regard fish as simple; some scientists reject that view. Fish exhibit rich behaviors mediated by internal, emotional-like states and can experience negative states such as pain. Researchers investigated whether fish can also experience positive states and concluded that fish can feel pleasure and actively seek rewarding experiences. Fish demonstrate cooperative interactions, exemplified by the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, which cleans parasites from many other species throughout the day, including predatory fish, indicating complex social and ecological behaviors.
We tend to credit animals like cats and dogs with a certain degree of mental complexity. But fish aren't usually afforded that kind of praise. "They do not talk, they do not bark," says Caio Maximino, a neuroscientist at the Federal University of the South and Southeast Para in Brazil. "We usually think, 'Well, these are very simple-minded animals. They are like little robots that do not do much.'"
"Those animals, they have very rich behavior that is mediated by these internal, emotional-like states," he says. Previous research has largely focused on the negative experiences of fish that are driven by fear, anxiety and discomfort. "It has been demonstrated that they feel pain, for example," says Marta Soares, a behavioral physiologist at the University of Porto in Portugal. "And that was a huge step, actually."
"Fish like things, they want things," says Soares. "Basically, it would be nice to change, a bit, the view of people regarding fish." Very cooperative fish To determine what fish might feel, the researchers turned to two coral reef species. The first was the bluestreak cleaner wrasse. This silvery blue little fish with a jet black stripe eats the bloodsucking parasites on other fish, including predatory species that might otherwise eat them.
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