Did Sexual Selection Make Male Mosquitofish Really Smart?
Australian National University tells us that the matchstick-size mosquitofish is much smarter than we think:
According to the ANU scientists, male mosquitofish possess impressive problem-solving skills and can successfully navigate mazes and other tests. Males that perform better have a higher chance of mating.
Lead author Dr Ivan Vinogradov said male mosquitofish likely evolved better cognitive abilities over time because of the advantage it gave them in finding females and producing offspring — a phenomenon known as “sexual selection.”
“Evolution of intelligence in animals has long been thought to have been driven by natural selection. Animals that were better at problem solving were more adept at gathering food, finding shelter, and avoiding predators and hence lived longer,” Dr Vinogradov said.
“They then passed on these genes to their offspring, helping future generations become smarter over time.
“But there is another explanation for the evolution of intelligence: braininess is an attractive quality to the opposite sex. A better brain might help an animal find more mates, have more sex, and eventually have more babies.
“’Smarts’ count: Evolution of intelligence,” February 25, 2025
Presumably, Vinogradov’s thesis assumes that the female fish are clever too; otherwise, they wouldn’t recognize or appreciate cleverness in the males.
After performing more than 2,000 paternity tests, the scientists found that smarter males who successfully navigated the underwater tests mated with more females and produced more offspring than less-intelligent fish that failed the tests.
“Evolution of intelligence” Here’s the paper.
It’s worth considering that the fish who can solve mazes may also be better able to stay out of the way of predators than the ones who couldn’t. The females, after all, can only mate with survivors…
Still a Mystery…
It’s still not clear just how the fish significantly increases its intelligence, relative to other fish. Natural selection and sexual selection only show why it may be an advantage; they don’t account for how, exactly, it is done.
But then, we are still trying to figure out how the solitary, exothermic, invertebrate octopus got to be so smart too. Lots of room for new research!
No comments:
Post a Comment