For the first time, fish have been photographed using tools, a task previously thought to be exclusive to select mammals and birds. In this case, the blackspot tuskfish was seen repeatedly slamming a clam into the pointy end of a hard rock to open its prize. The collection of broken shells beneath the rock suggest that this is a regular activity.
[Wired, image by Scott Gardner]
The archer fish shoots water out of its mouth to gun down its prey. It is accurate to distances six feet away, and in aiming its shot, the fish accounts for both the curved trajectory of the water stream an optical illusion of changing the angle of objects on land when going from being underwater to above the surface.
Stickleback fish often visit food foraging sites in groups to avoid predation, and even when two fish prefer different foraging locations, they compromise by taking turns visiting each site together rather than parting ways.
[Current Biology], [photo]
Damselfish learn to associate scents with danger after only a single presentation of a new, artificial smell presented in conjunction with the odor of a predator, and they will change their behavior on subsequent presentations of the newly learned scent.
[Behavioural Processes], [photo]
Archer fish shoot streams of water at their prey and change the strength of their shot based on the size of the animal being hunted.
[Current Biology] via [Softpedia] and [Scientific Blogging]
Newborn cuttlefish hunt different prey depending on what is visible to them as embryos.
[Animal Behaviour], via [Discover] and [Zooillogix]
Cleaner fish often work as pairs to eat parasites off bigger fish, but if one cleaner tries to sneak a bite of the big fish itself along with the parasite meal, the larger fish typically swims off, leaving the other cleaner hungry. As punishment, the innocent cleaner often aggressively chases its thief partner for a while. This behavior was recently recreated in the lab by UK researchers, who also found that such punishments led to better cleaning behavior in the future by chastised mates.
[Science] via [ScienceBlogs]. Image by Gerry Allen.
