Big-team science reveals that patterns of inhibitory control variation in teleost fishes differ from those in mammals and birds
Abstract
Understanding the evolution of cognition is fundamental to understanding the origins and nature of our own cognitive abilities, with cross-species comparisons providing a cornerstone of this endeavor. Yet, comparative cognition so far has largely focused on endothermic vertebrates, particularly mammals and birds, while ectotherms--representing a substantial proportion of vertebrate diversity--remain relatively understudied. Moreover, variation in experimental methods makes existing data difficult to compare across species. Big-team science offers a way to overcome these limitations by enabling standardized cognitive testing across broad taxonomic scales. Here, we apply this approach to fishes, using inhibitory control as a proof of concept for standardized comparative testing in 444 individuals across 22 teleost species spanning 19 genera. We demonstrate that standardized cognitive testing across such diversity is feasible, while also revealing substantial heterogeneity in the sample. Performance varied markedly among species, but, strikingly, showed only a weak phylogenetic signal, contrasting with patterns previously reported in mammals and birds. In addition, we detected great within-species variation, including differences across research groups, suggesting that performance may reflect not only species-level evolutionary history but also ontogenetic experience and the capacity to adjust decision rules to local conditions. Together, our findings highlight the importance of both evolutionary and environmental sources of cognitive variation and demonstrate that extending standardized comparative approaches beyond traditionally studied endotherms can reveal a more dynamic and complex picture of cognitive evolution across the vertebrate lineage.
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BibTeX
@misc{pretot2026bigteam,
title = {{Big-team science reveals that patterns of inhibitory control variation in teleost fishes differ from those in mammals and birds}},
author = {L. Pretot and E. Gatto and T. Lucon-Xiccato and S. Abedi and C. Agrillo and P. Arechavala-Lopez and M. P. Arteaga-Avendano and L. Avila and A. Berry and B. C. Bluck and C. Brown and R. Bshary and M. J. Cabrera-Alvarez and G. Dennis and V. Guerrini and Y. Hejja-Brichard and K. B. Irwin and N. Jung and M. Leeper and T. C. Mendelson and K. Mondal and I. Neves and C. Newport and A. Pecunioso and S. Rance and J. L. Saraiva and R. Segev and L. Storks and J. Yeager and Z. Triki},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.22.753528},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753528v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Big-team science reveals that patterns of inhibitory control variation in teleost fishes differ from those in mammals and birds
AU - L. Pretot
AU - E. Gatto
AU - T. Lucon-Xiccato
AU - S. Abedi
AU - C. Agrillo
AU - P. Arechavala-Lopez
AU - M. P. Arteaga-Avendano
AU - L. Avila
AU - A. Berry
AU - B. C. Bluck
AU - C. Brown
AU - R. Bshary
AU - M. J. Cabrera-Alvarez
AU - G. Dennis
AU - V. Guerrini
AU - Y. Hejja-Brichard
AU - K. B. Irwin
AU - N. Jung
AU - M. Leeper
AU - T. C. Mendelson
AU - K. Mondal
AU - I. Neves
AU - C. Newport
AU - A. Pecunioso
AU - S. Rance
AU - J. L. Saraiva
AU - R. Segev
AU - L. Storks
AU - J. Yeager
AU - Z. Triki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.22.753528
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.22.753528v1
AB - Understanding the evolution of cognition is fundamental to understanding the origins and nature of our own cognitive abilities, with cross-species comparisons providing a cornerstone of this endeavor. Yet, comparative cognition so far has largely focused on endothermic vertebrates, particularly mammals and birds, while ectotherms--representing a substantial proportion of vertebrate diversity--remain relatively understudied. Moreover, variation in experimental methods makes existing data difficult to compare across species. Big-team science offers a way to overcome these limitations by enabling standardized cognitive testing across broad taxonomic scales. Here, we apply this approach to fishes, using inhibitory control as a proof of concept for standardized comparative testing in 444 individuals across 22 teleost species spanning 19 genera. We demonstrate that standardized cognitive testing across such diversity is feasible, while also revealing substantial heterogeneity in the sample. Performance varied markedly among species, but, strikingly, showed only a weak phylogenetic signal, contrasting with patterns previously reported in mammals and birds. In addition, we detected great within-species variation, including differences across research groups, suggesting that performance may reflect not only species-level evolutionary history but also ontogenetic experience and the capacity to adjust decision rules to local conditions. Together, our findings highlight the importance of both evolutionary and environmental sources of cognitive variation and demonstrate that extending standardized comparative approaches beyond traditionally studied endotherms can reveal a more dynamic and complex picture of cognitive evolution across the vertebrate lineage.
ER -