Cuttlefish Can Learn as Embryos

Alex

Cuttlefish turns out to be a smart predator - in fact, so smart that they actually learn which animal to prey on before they are born!

Before they have even hatched, cuttlefish embryos can peer out of their eggs and spot potential prey. It is the first time any animal has been shown to learn visual images before they are born.

Ludovic Dickel and his colleagues at the University of Caen Basse-Normandy, France, made the discovery by placing crabs alongside cuttlefish eggs in a series of laboratory tanks. Those embryos exposed to crabs preferred them as prey later in life, the scientists report in the journal Animal Behaviour.

The young embryos must be able to see through their translucent egg case, the scientists believe, and learn which animals are worth hunting even before they have hatched. "This is the first time there is evidence of visual learning by embryos," said Dr Dickel.

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Comments (6)

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Damn those smart little bastards. They're going to rise up one day, and take over the seas. And in a couple of million years, they'll evolve a lung or two, and it'll be over.
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beavers are not always 'natural' note the story where Canadian beavers were brought to South America and made a mess of things since they were not 'naturally' part of the life cycle there: "in 1946, ambitious breeders brought 25 pairs of Canadian beavers to the Argentinean province of Tierra del Fuego in hopes of spawning a fur industry in the area. Now both Argentina and Chile are suffering from an explosion of the dam-building Canadian icons. Far from their natural predators, the beavers have been able to reproduce without restraint, putting serious strain on the local ecosystem. "
http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-1-26/37411.html
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gtron: I would tend to disagree with you, but only on a minor point. The beavers (and other misplaced wildlife) are always natural in my book. They always do as they always have done, and they are darn good at it too.

It's the human intervention that was "UNnatural" and rather poorly thought out, as is usually the case.

Don't blame the poor beavers. They are just trying to make a living.

:)
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That is pretty freakin hilarious. I would've loved to have seen those idiots reactions when they learned it was just beavers :P Priceless!
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Overenthusiastic enviro-tards chap my hide. This is a great story and I agree with LisaL. I would have loved to see their faces when they learned that beavers were responsible.
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Will they give the beaver 20 years in prison for this crime against their all mighty pagan deity GAIA will they fine the beaver SCREWBALL GREENS GET EVEN MORE SCREWY AND REDICULOUS
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How much flatulance comes from the world's beavers?
They taste great and recycle quicker than beef cattle.

Perhaps they can be trained to make salt water dams and save the world from rising oceans.
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Most of the environmental crowd are city folks and know very little about nature. They only get evolved in the green movement so they have something to try and empress their friends. They for the most part live a very small and boring life. They know so little about nature that is why any loony that makes it sound right (Gore) leads them to believe they are experts in all fields of study, when in reality they can barely understand what it is they are talking about.
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These ignorant flaylanders dont know a thing about the enviroment they get the junk mail from various eco-freak groups urging them to send in $500 to oppose drilling or logging and their being ripped off by the green hucksters its better if they kept the money at home and no longer finance the wealthy green freak tree hugger liars
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