In a recent study by the University of Bonn, cichlids and stingrays were proven capable of performing simple addition and subtraction in the number range of one to five.
Using colored geometric shapes and food rewards, researchers trained cichlids and stingrays to associate certain selections with an addition by one and subtraction by one, then tested their ability to swim to the correct selection under new mathematical tasks. In these exercises, a statistically significant majority of the fish swam to the correct selection, despite complex tasks involving differing sizes and shapes.
This discovery surprises scientists, as fish do not have a neocortex – a part of the brain similar to the cerebral cortex responsible for complex cognitive tasks in mammals. Additionally, it is unknown how these mathematical abilities are exercised in nature.
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