Over the last decades, research in the area of animal cognition has presented evidence for the ability to discriminate quantities in a variety of species. Being a beneficial trait for many behaviors, it is quite likely that it is present in almost every species. To this day, studies examining numerical abilities in elasmobranchs are limited, despite them representing one of the oldest lineages of vertebrates. This study aimed to approach this gap by training and conditioning juvenile grey bamboo sharks in a series of two- alternative forced choice experiments. Even though unpublished data suggests the existence of numerical abilities in sharks and stingrays, the present study could neither prove nor reject those findings. As bamboo sharks have shown their ability to visually discriminate a multitude of two-dimensional objects in previous studies, it is assumed that they might have a deficit when using this skill to assess quantities in two-alternative forced choice experiments. Previous experience and individual age may play an important role for the outcome of the experiment and need to be further investigated in future studies.
Managing Thesis and Internship Exchanges
