Can Fish Do Math?

Fish are some of the most interesting animals in the world. These smooth, strange, and sometimes scary animals come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from the smallest dwarf minnow that is less than one third of an inch to the humongous whale shark that can reach the size of a school bus!

Because of the huge number of different kinds of fish (over 33,000 different ones!), there’s still a lot to learn about them. But one thing that scientists have learned recently is that fish can remember things for up to 5 months, and are even able to use tools!

However, one of the most interesting things scientists have found is that fish can do basic math! (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07552-2)

A study at the University of Bonn in Germany used two types of fish - the colorful zebrafish and the freshwater stingray:

The researchers showed the fish two pictures, either with 4 squares, 4 circles, or 4 triangles. The fish had 5 seconds to memorize the number of shapes, and their color - either blue or yellow. Then they were shown new pictures - one with 5 shapes and one with 3 shapes.

If the images were blue, and the fish swam towards the image with 5 shapes, they got a treat. If the images were yellow, and the fish swam towards the image with 3 shapes, they got a treat.

The researchers found that much of the time, the fish chose the correct answer.

To make sure that the fish weren’t just associating blue with 5 and yellow with 3, the researchers designed a new test.

Instead of choosing which picture had more or less shapes, depending on the color, the scientists had the fish choose between adding one or two shapes for the blue images, and subtracting one or two shapes for the yellow images. Most of the time, the fish still chose to add or subtract one shape!

This should mean that fish are able to understand basic math- adding or subtracting!

However, some scientists disagree, like Rafael Núñez from UC San Diego. Prof. Núñez argues that the fish aren’t actually doing math, rather just choosing the image that looks most similar to the one that got them a treat. If the fish is just choosing what looks most similar, are they really doing math?

What do you think?

Let us know in the comments below.

One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish,

Black fish, Blue fish, Old fish, New fish.

This one has a little car.

This one has a little star.

Say! What a lot of fish there are.

Dr. Seuss

Can Penguins Take a Selfie?

Last Thursday, January 20th was Penguin Awareness Day - lets celebrate these cute birds!

Penguins are flightless birds. Flightless means unable to fly. There are other flightless birds like Ostrich, Kiwi, Cassowary, and more, but the penguins are the only birds that can swim but can't fly.

There are more than 17 different kinds of penguins in our world and they primarily live in the Southern Hemisphere.

How do they keep warm?

Some penguins stay in the water for as long as 5 months. They eat, sleep, and swim thousands of miles and must keep warm in the water.

Penguins have dense feathers that cover their entire body. These feathers have an oil-producing gland that make their feathers waxy that keep the water away - therefore their skin stays dry.

In addition, penguins have a layer of fat under their skin called "blubber" that keeps them warm.

What do they eat?

Various fish and other sea life that they catch underwater.

Predators

On land, adult penguins have no natural predators. The eggs and the chicks might be eaten by birds. In the water, they may be eaten by seals and whales.

In order to protect themselves, penguins live in large groups and huddle.

Camouflage

Camouflage is a way of hiding something by covering or coloring it so that it looks like its surroundings. Animals use camouflage to hide themselves from predators and survive.

Penguins' black and white coat is great for camouflaging - the black back makes it hard to detect from above, and the white belly looks as if the sun is reflecting off the water's surface if you look from below.

From left to right - Louisiana State University/Michael Polito;

Paul Nicklen/National geographic

A group of penguins in the water is called a raft

but on land they're called a waddle!

A Baby Penguin is Called a Chick!

The Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Argentina Program has released an amazing underwater selfie video recently taken by a penguin fitted with a special camera. To increase awareness to penguins, they strapped a video camera to a Gentoo penguin, therefore being rewarded with a penguin's eye-view of how to hunt sardines.

The video shows the usual feeding spots of the Gentoo penguins which are near the sea bed, where they hunt for crustaceans and small squid. However, when they stumble upon a school of little fish, they won't miss a chance for a snack :😊.

To watch the video and read more click HERE.

Did you know?

• Penguins are birds that can not fly

• There are no penguins in the North Pole

• Penguins can drink sea water

• Penguins spend half of their life on land and half under water

• Penguins in Antarctica have no land predators

Quiz - can you identify these famous cartoon Penguins?

(answers at the bottom)

Let's watch some funny Penguins:

Quiz Answers - From left to right:

1. The penguins of Madagascar

2. Wheezy (Toy Story)

3. Mumble (Happy Feet)

4. Cody Maverick (Surf's Up)

Vocabulary

Marine Biology - the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea

Camouflage - a way of hiding something by covering or coloring it so that it looks like its surroundings

How Underwater Volcano Eruption caused a Tsunami Warning in the Pacific Ocean

On Saturday, January 15, an underwater volcano erupted near Tonga and was likely the biggest underwater eruption recorded on our planet in more than 30 years. The eruption caused Tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean that reached the western coast of the US.

The eruption was captured from space in real time as a huge cloud of ash, gas, and steam spewed 12.5 miles (!!) into the atmosphere!

Satellite images from JMA show the volcano eruption in Tonga on January 15.

Can you say "Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai"?

Tonga is a south pacific kingdom made out of more than 170 islands. About100,000 people call it home.

Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai is one of Tonga's islands, and it is a volcanic island.

The volcano itself is an underwater volcano that reaches sea level in 2009 after a volcanic eruption. It lies between two islands: Hunga Tonga and Hunga Haʻapai.

Above from left to right - Tonga's location, Tonga and the underwater volcano, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai island

What is an Underwater Volcano?

Underwater Volcanoes or Submarine Volcanoes are underwater vents in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Most underwater volcanoes are very deep but some exist in shallow water and can send material into the atmosphere during an eruption.

Above - Hunga Tonga eruption early on 15 January 2022, taken from the GOES-17 geostationary weather satellite positioned above the equator at 137.2°W longitude.

What is a Tsunami

A Tsunami is a Japanese word that means "harbor wave." It is one of nature's forces.

It is a large wave caused by movements in Earth's outer layer, or crust, which move ocean water. A Tsunami can speed across the ocean as fast as a jet plane. An earthquake, or a volcano eruption in the ocean, can cause a Tsunami.

If a volcano erupts in the ocean, the lava flowing out of the volcano takes up the space of the water around it. That water has to move and it can turn into a large wave. The bigger the volcanic eruption, the bigger the wave of water would be. When the wave reaches the shore, it grows taller because the ocean is shallower.

How do we know if a Tsunami is on its way?

After an oceanic earthquake or underwater volcanic eruption, a Tsunami warning is issued.

NASA has a tool called MISR (the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) that watches for Tsunamis from space. MISR can see sunlight reflecting off waves and measure their height.

Above: The MISR instrument on the Terra satellite takes pictures from different angles to look for tsunamis. Credit: NASA/JPL/Shigeru Suzuki and Eric M. De Jong, Solar System Visualization Project

So what Happened after the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai eruption?

The eruption caused a Tsunami on Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, with 4 feet high waves that flooded large areas.

Tsunami warnings went into effect across many Pacific Islands, parts of New Zealand, and as far as Japan, Peru and the United States' + Canada's pacific coast.

The eruption sent waves to the US West Coast, with some exceeding 3 and 4 feet in height, according to the National Weather Service. Tsunami waves were felt in California, Alaska and Hawaii.

Above - A tsunami has hit Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu.

Vocabulary

Underwater Volcano - volcanoes which are under the surface of the world's oceans

Tsunami - a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion