444 GERTRUDE MAREAN WHITE 



The behavior of fishes has been a subject of special interest to 

 a large number of scientific investigators. While observations 

 have been made upon a number of species, insufficient evidence 

 has thus far been brought together to furnish a basis for the 

 comparison of various aspects of the psychology of fishes with 

 those of other vertebrates. In connection with this general 

 problem, a series of experiments on the behavior of the mud- 

 minnow, Umbra limi (Kirt^and), and the stickleback, Eucalia 

 inconstans (Kirtland), were undertaken to determine their 

 ability to form associations and to discriminate colors and pat- 

 terns. These experiments were performed in the Zoological 

 Laboratories of the University of Wisconsin. The problem was 

 suggested by Prof. A. S. Pearse, from whom valuable criticism 

 and assistance were received. 



REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE BEHAVIOR OF FISHES 



The gustatory and olfactory senses of fishes have been studied 

 by Parker, Copeland, and Herrick. Herrick ('03) concludes 

 that the bullhead, the shiner, and the spotted sucker perceive 

 their food through gustatory sense organs. They detect food 

 from a distance and exhibit a ' seeking reaction.' The gadoid fishes 

 (pollock, hake, tomcod) are stimulated to take food by the gus- 

 tatory sense, which is located on the fins as well as about the 

 mouth. The tactile sense is also used in finding food, combined 

 with the gustatory sense in these gadoid fishes. Parker ('10, '11, 

 '12, '13) shows that a true sense of smell, distinct from taste, 

 exists in the bullhead, the dogfish, and the killifish. He defines 

 smell in water as the perception of very dilute substances ema- 

 nating from a distance; taste as the perception of substances 

 near at hand and present in comparatively large amount. Cope- 

 land ('12) shows that the puffer possesses a sense of smell by 

 which it is able to discover hidden food. 



That fishes are able to hear is a tradition universally accepted 

 by fishermen. Yet Bateson ('89'-90) asserts that fishes are not 

 desturbed by sounds made in the air, and that on the whole shocks 

 and concussions do not play much part in the activities of fishes. 



