Clever Cuttlefish Show Advanced Self-Control, Like Chimps and Crows | The Conversation
2018 Grass Fellow Alex Schnell writes about her collaboration with 乐播传媒 Senior Scientist Roger Hanlon and others, recently published in
When I enter the marine laboratory in the morning, there鈥檚 always a chance I鈥檓 about to get soaked. You see, our crankiest common cuttlefish, called Franklin, has recently taken to squirting a water jet at me from her tank. I鈥檝e decided it鈥檚 her grumpy way of saying she doesn鈥檛 want to participate in experiments, because Franklin never hoses me during my evening visits, which is when I鈥檓 only in the lab to give her dinner.
Cuttlefish are clever creatures, and squirting saltwater is not their only party trick. They鈥檙e , adjusting the colour and texture of their skin to match their environment. Plus, cuttlefish possess a range of , including a , to help them and adapt to changing prey conditions.
But Franklin鈥檚 selective squirting inspired me to test for another cognitive ability in cuttlefish: self-control, which might be what stops Franklin鈥檚 impulse to drench me during my evening visits.
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