title: Relationship between individual and group learning in a marine teleost: A case study with sea bass under self-feeding conditions.
abstract: Fish learning and cognition are usually approached by testing single individuals in various devices such as mazes that have serious drawbacks, especially in gregarious species, including the stress induced by the test procedure. This might impair the results and lead to misinterpretation about the learning abilities of the targeted species. In order to provide an alternative to the individual-based tests, we investigated for the first time the operant conditioning of four similar groups (50 individuals per tank) of sea bass. We used two computerized self-feeder devices per tank, each coupled with individual electronic identification and that were alternately activated during varying positive appetitive reinforcement period of time (7 to 1 day). Learning abilities were examined at both group and individual levels. At the group level, the operant conditioning was demonstrated as the triggering activity significantly decreased when the device was turned off and increased when it was turned on, whatever the reinforcement period duration. The individual level analysis revealed a more complex situation with fish showing different learning performances that can be best explained through the producer-scrounger game theory.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire universitaire des sciences appliquées de Cherbourg, Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, LUSAC, 50100, Cherbourg, France. david.benhaim@cnam.fr.|Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. Intechmer, 50100, Cherbourg, France. david.benhaim@cnam.fr.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benhaïm
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire universitaire des sciences appliquées de Cherbourg, Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, LUSAC, 50100, Cherbourg, France.|Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. Intechmer, 50100, Cherbourg, France.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Université de Lorraine, Unité de Recherche Animal et Fonctionnalités des Produits Animaux, USC INRA 340, 54506, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, Cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Colchen
authors.affiliation: Ifremer, UMR 9190 MARBEC, Station Expérimentale d'Aquaculture, Chemin de Maguelone, 34250, Palavas-Les-Flots, France.
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chatain
authors.affiliation: Ifremer, place Gaby Coll, 17137, L'Houmeau, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Laure
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bégout
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001492:Bass; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D007858:Learning; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Group conditions; Operant conditioning; Personality traits; Positive reinforcement; Producer-scrounger; Social structure