What a Fish Knows

The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins

By: Jonathan Balcombe

Narrated by: Graham Winton

An underwater exploration that overturns myths about fishes and reveals their complex lives, from tool use to social behavior.

There are more than 30,000 species of fish - more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined. But for all their breathtaking diversity and beauty, we rarely consider how fish think, feel, and behave.

In What a Fish Knows, ethologist Jonathan Balcombe takes us under the sea and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal what fishes can do, how they do it, and why. Introducing the latest revelations in animal behavior and biology, Balcombe upends our assumptions about fish, exposing them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed creatures but as sentient, aware, social - even Machiavellian. They conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, punish wrongdoers, curry favor, and deceive one another. Fish possess sophisticated senses that rival our own. The reef-dwelling damselfish identifies its brethren by face patterns visible only in ultraviolet light, and some species communicate among themselves in murky waters using electric signals.

Highlighting these breakthrough discoveries and others from his own encounters with fish, Balcombe inspires a more enlightened appraisal of marine life. An illuminating journey into the world of underwater science, What a Fish Knows will forever change your view of our aquatic cousins - your pet goldfish included.

©2016 Jonathan Balcombe (P)2016 Recorded Books

surprisingly interesting

who would have thought a book about fish would be so interesting. it covers everything from how fish evolved to are they sentient beings to the ecologic perils fish face. A good listen

A New View of Fish

This book really made me see fish in an entirely different light. Backed by many research studies, the author indicates that fish can feel pain, have a much better memory and intelligence than they are given credit for, have individual personalities, and may even be capable of complex emotions! High school students should read this and maybe the way we treat fish can be reconsidered. I will certainly look at my aquarium denizens differently! Definitely worth a credit.

You'll never look at fish the same

We don’t usually think of fish the same way that we do as other animals, maybe partly because they are so otherworldly. We drown in water. They drown out of water. We are anchored to the surface we walk on, they are in a more 3D world. We know the voice of land animals, but fish seem to have no voice. And, they can’t be very smart. This book upends a lot that you thought you knew about fish. It’s divided into sections, “What a Fish Perceives,” “What a Fish Feels,” “What a Fish Thinks,” “What a Fish Knows,” and “How a Fish Breeds. You’ll be reminded that fish have no eyelids and other physical details. You’ll discover that 60% of the vertebrates in this world are fish and they are far more diverse than all the other vertebrates. But, you’ll also find that fish see things differently than us, being able to see colors that are beyond our spectrum. Some fish have eyes that move separately and brains that process what both see separately. They are able to feel pain, but are also able to feel joy through play. They are smarter than you think and are able to find their way through mazes and solve problems better than chimpanzees. They can learn and memorize reefs and their environment. They can analyze and find solutions and some even use tools. And, their bodies can do things that sound magical, such as the flounder who, as it comes of age, moves one eye from one side of his body all the way around to the other side, sometimes in the course of a day. Some fish can change from male to female over the course of a few days to adapt to their environment. Some fish are both male and female. Some, including the flounder can change their skin color and patterns to match their environment (just Google “flounder on a checkerboard” for an example). This book was fascinating and illustrated the creativity of the creation. The only negative, at least sort of negative, was that the author had an ax to grind as a vocal supporter of animal rights and he pushes that a little too much instead of letting us appreciate the wonders of fish and come to our own conclusions. But, maybe that is a petty way of looking at the book. In any case, you’ll have fun learning about fish.

Convinced me that fish are sentient

Wonderfully put together.
Author makes very convenient arguments with studies to back it up
Doesn’t read like a dry, clinical research paper
Author does a fantastic job with delivery.
Going to have my daughter, a frequent fisherman, to read with a warning: “You may not be as enthusiastic about fishing after listening to this book”.

Fish Know Much More Than We Thought.

I'm not sure I can completely buy into the subtitle of this book: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins, but Jonathan Balcombe gives the reader plenty of reasons why What a Fish Knows is much more than we have previously thought. From frillfins exhibiting that they are able to form memories of tide pool layouts and recall them to avoid predators, to tool use by the orange-dotted tusk fish, and so many more species, the author presents a myriad of elegantly designed studies and interesting evidence to show that we have been underestimating fish. He examines their senses, intelligence, family and social lives, along with many reasons why we should no longer think of them as “just fish”. Their ability to receive and perceive visual information from above the water level and below it at the same time is fascinating to me, and something I would like to better understand on a neurological level, along with the lateral lines of the bony fish that allow them to sense water pressure. Fish comprise approximately 60% of all vertebrates, and there are more than 30,000 species of fish, and Balcombe argues that we should consider all of them as worthy and sentient individuals. The chapter on piscine feelings (From Stress to Joy) began to sound a bit unscientific to me, but the author presents intriguing information in the rest of the book in such an entertaining way that I will most likely re-read this wonderful book.