Adults, infants and non-human primates are thought to possess similar non-verbal numerical systems, but there is considerable debate regarding whether all vertebrates share the same numerical abilities. Despite an abundance of studies, cross-species comparison remains difficult because the methodology employed and the context of species examination vary considerably across studies. To fill this gap, we used the same procedure, stimuli, and numerical contrasts to compare quantity abilities of five teleost fish: redtail splitfin, guppies, zebrafish, Siamese fighting fish, and angelfish. Subjects were trained to discriminate between two sets of geometrical figures using a food reward. Fish initially were trained on an easy numerical ratio (5 vs. 10 and 6 vs. 12). Once they reached the learning criterion, they were subjected to non-reinforced probe trials in which the set size was constant but numerical ratios varied (8 vs. 12 and 9 vs. 12). They also were subjected to probe trials in which the ratio was constant, but the total set size was increased (25 vs. 50) or decreased (2 vs. 4). Overall, fish generalized to numerosities with a 0.67 ratio, but failed with a 0.75 ratio; they generalized to a smaller set size, but not to a larger one. Only minor differences were observed among the five species. However, in one species, zebrafish, the proportion of individuals reaching the learning criterion was much smaller than in the others. In a control experiment, zebrafish showed a similar lower performance in shape discrimination, suggesting that the observed difference resulted from the zebrafish’s difficulty in learning this procedure rather than from a cross-species variation in the numerical domain.
In the last decade, visual illusions have been repeatedly used as a tool to compare visual perception among species. Several studies have investigated whether non-human primates perceive visual illusions in a human-like fashion, but little attention has been paid to other mammals, and sensitivity to visual illusions has been never investigated in the dog. Here, we studied whether domestic dogs perceive the Delboeuf illusion. In human and non-human primates, this illusion creates a misperception of item size as a function of its surrounding context. To examine this effect in dogs, we adapted the spontaneous preference paradigm recently used with chimpanzees. Subjects were presented with two plates containing food. In control trials, two different amounts of food were presented in two identical plates. In this circumstance, dogs were expected to select the larger amount. In test trials, equal food portion sizes were presented in two plates differing in size: if dogs perceived the illusion as primates do, they were expected to select the amount of food presented in the smaller plate. Dogs significantly discriminated the two alternatives in control trials, whereas their performance did not differ from chance in test trials with the illusory pattern. The fact that dogs do not seem to be susceptible to the Delboeuf illusion suggests a potential discontinuity in the perceptual biases affecting size judgments between primates and dogs.
Various vertebrate species use relative numerosity judgements in comparative assessments of quantities for which they use larger/smaller relationships rather than absolute number. The numerical ability of honeybees shares basic properties with that of vertebrates but their use of absolute or relative numerosity has not been explored. We trained free-flying bees to choose variable images containing three dots; one group (‘larger’) was trained to discriminate 3 from 2, while another group (‘smaller’) was trained to discriminate 3 from 4. In both cases, numbers were kept constant but stimulus characteristics and position were varied from trial to trial. Bees were then tested with novel stimuli displaying the previously trained numerosity (3) versus a novel numerosity (4 for ‘larger’ and 2 for ‘smaller’). Both groups preferred the three-item stimulus, consistent with absolute numerosity. They also exhibited ratio-dependent discrimination of numbers, a property shared by vertebrates, as performance after 2 versus 3 was better than after 3 versus 4 training. Thus, bees differ from vertebrates in their use of absolute rather than of relative numerosity but they also have some numeric properties in common.
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