A test of the senses in the search for a shoal mate
Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 19:00
in Psychology & Sociology
Ever had to find your friend in a crowd? Imagine at a festival your mate saying: "I'll be wearing a yellow t-shirt by the hotdog stall behind the jazz stage." Using this information, you could walk around listening out for the romping double bass, and as you get closer and start to hear the trills of the trumpet, begin to sniff out the frying onions and sizzling sausages. Once you have located the hotdog stand, you only need to look for a bright yellow t-shirt and you will find your friend. Young coral reef fish use the same strategy, research from the Radboud University Nijmegen and the University of Bristol has found.