H O W F I S H L E A R N
FISH LEARNING
The concept of animal “learning” is
one of the most interesting aspects of
this new area of research. We know
animals learn. That’s one of the pillars
of evolution. Animal experiences, choices
and results directly impact a given
animal’s fitness – and thus its ability to
pass on its genetic material to subsequent
generations.
Take the bass living in the storied
Carolina reservoirs of Lake Hartwell,
Lake Keowee, Lake Jocassee and
Clarks Hill. Until the 1970s, they lived
an existence very similar to any other
reservoir-bound bass throughout the
South. Then, several blueback herring
were accidentally included in a stocking
of threadfin shad and quickly flourished.
Blueback herring behave, spawn
and interact very differently than other
shad – preferring pelagic open-water
areas and remaining up in the water
column most of the year.
In the following 30 years, the bass
in these reservoirs have not only
learned how to successfully feed on the
bluebacks, but now often forsake traditional
cover and structure to live a
semi-pelagic lifestyle much of the year.
Similar documented cases of “bass
learning” can be found throughout the
country and across species. Imagine
being the first smallmouth to lay eyes
on a round goby. Did it even recognize
the goby as something it could eat?
DIRECT LEARNING
Undoubtedly – whether out of
hunger, curiosity or something else
entirely – a smallmouth somewhere
along the line decided to eat a goby
and used its caloric content to grow,
move about its environment and thrive.
This is called direct learning, wherein
an animal alters its behavior due to
interaction with one or more stimuli.
In the case of the smallmouth eating
the goby, one may infer that this individual
decision to consume a goby
could have resulted in that bass being
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FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | JUNE-JULY 2020