The sea holds a fascination for people. It is an alien element for those who breathe air. However, it has long been an indispensable source of food and a pathway to wealth, adventure, and conquest. Sailors all throughout recorded history have told tales about mysteries in the ocean depths; they had no doubt that intelligent sea life was to be found under the waves.
The first scientists were simply people who knew a lot about plants and animals that surrounded them, heavenly bodies they could see, and the rhythms of life: seasons, day and night, high and low tide, and other natural phenomena. At first there was a treasury of anecdotal lore. Fishermen would watch dolphins at play, whales with their young, marine birds soaring over land and sea, and strange creatures they found in their nets or on their lines. Sometimes things could only be explained in myths and fantasy, but other things could mean the difference between a good catch or an empty boat or even between life and death.
Divers today swear that dolphins and even barracuda learn to recognize them if they swim in one area regularly. Everyone who has been at the seaside knows to be careful about throwing food to the gulls, because every bird in the sky will shortly be besieging them for handouts. There is no doubt that the wild animals quickly learn the habits of people who interact with them.
Goldfish were once thought to have a memory span of about three seconds. A modern study, however, explodes this idea. Not only can goldfish - not saltwater fishes, it's true, but representative of the species - learn to feed themselves by operating a lever, they also can learn to work it only at meal times. Moreover, researchers found that the fish remembered the trick for three months or more.
Almost everyone knows that seals, Orcas, and dolphins can be trained. These animals not only perform for a reward of their favorite food, but they seem to enjoy playing to an audience. They exhibit group behavior in the wild that helps them catch prey or protect themselves. Scientists are continually surprised at what they see.
Some of these animals seem to understand quite an astonishing number of words and to recognize certain people they are especially fond of. They often exhibit 'human' behavior; if a design is painted on a part of a dolphin's body that it cannot see, it will go to a mirror and examine itself, perhaps preening as if to show off the decoration.
Scientists are also studying instinct and there is much debate about whether a behavior is reasoned or merely instinctive. Migratory behavior is considered instinctive, but is there reason behind a Canadian Goose's use of the stars for navigation? Is maternal love merely a survival instinct or something more? Those who believe in pure evolution lean toward everything, even human behavior, being instinctive, while those who favor creation may take a broader view.
When octopus and other bottom dwellers camouflage themselves with shells or when seabirds drop hard mollusks from great heights to break them on the rocks, is that intelligence? Is there any reasoning behind symbiotic relationships? Do sea creatures use inanimate objects as tools? It often seems like ocean denizens are solving problems with reason.
The first scientists were simply people who knew a lot about plants and animals that surrounded them, heavenly bodies they could see, and the rhythms of life: seasons, day and night, high and low tide, and other natural phenomena. At first there was a treasury of anecdotal lore. Fishermen would watch dolphins at play, whales with their young, marine birds soaring over land and sea, and strange creatures they found in their nets or on their lines. Sometimes things could only be explained in myths and fantasy, but other things could mean the difference between a good catch or an empty boat or even between life and death.
Divers today swear that dolphins and even barracuda learn to recognize them if they swim in one area regularly. Everyone who has been at the seaside knows to be careful about throwing food to the gulls, because every bird in the sky will shortly be besieging them for handouts. There is no doubt that the wild animals quickly learn the habits of people who interact with them.
Goldfish were once thought to have a memory span of about three seconds. A modern study, however, explodes this idea. Not only can goldfish - not saltwater fishes, it's true, but representative of the species - learn to feed themselves by operating a lever, they also can learn to work it only at meal times. Moreover, researchers found that the fish remembered the trick for three months or more.
Almost everyone knows that seals, Orcas, and dolphins can be trained. These animals not only perform for a reward of their favorite food, but they seem to enjoy playing to an audience. They exhibit group behavior in the wild that helps them catch prey or protect themselves. Scientists are continually surprised at what they see.
Some of these animals seem to understand quite an astonishing number of words and to recognize certain people they are especially fond of. They often exhibit 'human' behavior; if a design is painted on a part of a dolphin's body that it cannot see, it will go to a mirror and examine itself, perhaps preening as if to show off the decoration.
Scientists are also studying instinct and there is much debate about whether a behavior is reasoned or merely instinctive. Migratory behavior is considered instinctive, but is there reason behind a Canadian Goose's use of the stars for navigation? Is maternal love merely a survival instinct or something more? Those who believe in pure evolution lean toward everything, even human behavior, being instinctive, while those who favor creation may take a broader view.
When octopus and other bottom dwellers camouflage themselves with shells or when seabirds drop hard mollusks from great heights to break them on the rocks, is that intelligence? Is there any reasoning behind symbiotic relationships? Do sea creatures use inanimate objects as tools? It often seems like ocean denizens are solving problems with reason.
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