The relative roles of genes and rearing environment on the spatial cognitive ability of two sympatric species of threespine stickleback

摘要

Background: Recently diverged populations provide a powerful model for studying trait evolution. Benthic sticklebacks primarily occupy vegetated areas of lakes, a spatially complex environment. Limnetic sticklebacks primarily occupy open water in lakes, a spatially simple environment. In a T-maze spatial learning assay, wild-caught benthic sticklebacks perform better than wild-caught limnetic sticklebacks. It is not known whether this difference has a genetic basis and is thus the result of evolution or is instead a plastic response to the contrasting environments.