Fish have fun too! Cichlids seen 'playing' like other animals for the first time
- 'Play' was defined as 'repeated behaviour that is incompletely functional'
- Scientists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville recorded the behaviour of cichlids for two years, to film them 'playing' for the first time
- Fish repeatedly struck a thermometer, which bounced back towards them
- The presence of food and other fish in the aquarium didn't distract them
They may not play ‘fetch’ or chase butterflies, but fish are social and playful creatures too, scientists claim.
They have filmed cichlid fish species ‘playing’ for the first time, recording the animals repeatedly hitting a thermometer that sprung back towards them.
Experts have previously found that species such as wasps and reptiles are capable of play, unlike previously thought.
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Scientists have filmed cichlid fish species ‘playing’ for the first time. Here, one of the fish strikes a bottom-weighted thermometer that immediately righted itself. It was often struck repeatedly in bouts, demonstrating the fish was playing
Professor Gordon Burghardt, an animal behaviour expert at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, explained: ‘Play is repeated behaviour that is incompletely functional in the context or at the age in which it is performed and is initiated voluntarily when the animal or person is in a relaxed or low-stress setting.’
He and his colleagues – Professor Vladimir Dinets and James Murphy, of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington DC - are the first to to document play with objects in a cichlid fish species.
The research illustrates how play is embedded in species' brains. Cats (illustrated) are known for their playful nature, but wasps and fish play too
They filmed three male fish individually over the course of two years and witnessed the animals repeatedly hitting a bottom-weighted thermometer that sprung back towards them after it was struck.
The presence or absence of food, or other fish within the aquarium or visible in an adjacent aquarium, had no effect on their behaviour, they reported in the journal Ethology.
Professor Burghardt said the fish were playing, because the thermometer-attacking behaviour satisfied his criteria for play.
‘The quick righting response seemed the primary stimulus factor that maintained the behaviour,’ he said.
‘We have observed octopus doing this with balls by pulling them underwater and watching them pop back up again. This reactive feature is common in toys used for children and companion animals.’
Professor Burghardt thinks that by observing how different animals play, scientists can learn more about why humans do it too.
His research illustrates how play is embedded in species' biology, including in the brain.
He believes play, like much of animals' psychology including emotions, motivations, perceptions and intellect, is part of their evolutionary history and not just random, meaningless behavior.
‘Play is an integral part of life and may make a life worth living,’ he added.
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