Researchers have discovered that fish can adjust their sensitivity to the actions of others, such as fleeing due to a false alarm, in order to reduce the risk of overreacting to misinformation. Wild coral reef fish, when swimming alone or in small groups, are extra-sensitive to their surroundings and highly attuned to the actions of others. In large, dense schools, individuals are more willing to take risks and tune down their sensitivity to social cues, making them less likely to flee when a neighboring fish does.
Using computer vision technology, the researchers analyzed footage of the fish from underwater observatories in coral reefs, tracking the actions of each fish in the frame and reconstructing what each one saw and the decisions they made. They proposed a new model based on well-studied properties of fish neural circuits that control these behaviors.
The study suggests that the need to cope with misinformation may have driven the evolution of how brains process information. The researchers believe that this form of dynamic control of sensitivity may be widespread in biological systems and may have evolved as a simple but robust way of coping with misinformation.
A new study reveals that fish can adjust their sensitivity to the actions of others to reduce the risk of overreacting to misinformation. Wild coral reef fish, when swimming alone or in small groups, are extra-sensitive to their surroundings and highly attuned to the actions of others. But in large, dense schools, individuals are more willing to take risks and tune down their sensitivity to social cues, making them less likely to flee when a neighboring fish does.
The decision-making mechanisms of fish may be preserved in other animals, including humans. However, the behavior doesn’t necessarily discriminate between true threats and misinformation. It adjusts sensitivity in a way that will lower the probability of responding to a false alarm.
Researchers used new computer vision tools, machine learning, and computational modeling to analyze underwater recordings of startle events among foraging coral reef fish in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. The study, titled “Wild Animals Suppress the Spread of Socially-Transmitted Misinformation” and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 28, found that when there is a lot of visual motion, individuals appear to lower their sensitivity to it, and when there is very little visual motion, they increase their sensitivity.
Senior author Andrew Hein, an assistant professor of computational biology at Cornell University, said that when they looked at the features of the model that matched observed behavior, they found that it adjusts the sensitivity of individuals to signals produced by others based on the past history of what they’ve been seeing. The study analyzed footage from underwater camera observatories and found that individuals in schools of wild foraging fish flee for shelter even when no predator or threat is present about once every 8 minutes.
Overall, the study suggests that even animals appreciate the risk of misinformation and are able to adjust their behavior accordingly.
Misinformation can take on many forms, and some of it is not deliberate. For instance, the sight of a crowded restaurant may suggest that the food is good, but a meal there might not meet expectations. Similarly, while standing on a busy street corner, other pedestrians may begin to cross the street, and you follow, only to find the light is still red and a truck is approaching, prompting you to step back.
To better understand how misinformation spreads among animals, researchers used coral reef fish as a model system. The fish feed in areas where predators lurk, which makes them skittish, even when predators are not present. The researchers used computer vision technology to analyze footage of the fish from underwater observatories in coral reefs, tracking the actions of each fish in the frame and reconstructing what each one saw and the decisions they made.
In the past, scientists have suggested different ways that misinformed behaviors might spread within human and animal groups. However, these hypotheses predicted that misinformed responses should spread widely through fish groups, but real-world data showed that such misinformation cascades rarely occur.
The study, titled “Wild Animals Suppress the Spread of Socially-Transmitted Misinformation” and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, proposes a new model based on well-studied properties of fish neural circuits that control these behaviors. According to the researchers, mechanisms for adjusting sensitivity are crucial to maintaining control over one’s behavior. The new model explains the data well and appears to be consistent with what the animals are actually doing.
The study suggests that the need to cope with misinformation may have driven the evolution of how brains process information. The researchers believe that this form of dynamic control of sensitivity may be widespread in biological systems and may have evolved as a simple but robust way of coping with misinformation.
In conclusion, this study sheds light on how animals cope with misinformation and suggests that even simple biological systems can have sophisticated ways of processing information. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms involved in this process.
Reference:
Fahimipour AK, Gil MA, Celis MR, Hein GF, Martin BT, Hein AM. Wild animals suppress the spread of socially transmitted misinformation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2023;120(14):e2215428120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2215428120.
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