A new study finds fish under the sea can't help but follow a fish under the influence.
Researchers at New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering found zebra fish become faster and more aggressive when drunk. And, when they're moved back into alcohol-free water, the study says sober fish actually treat drunk ones like leaders. (Via Wikimedia Commons / Azul)
According to the study's authors, the purpose was "to identify how a social group affects the individual response to [ethanol]" — a type of alcohol. A writer for Discover Magazine says while fish and humans aren't exactly similar, they are good subjects for studying the effects of alcohol.
The lead researcher told Discover the drunk fish's behavior, "is perceived as a boldness trait, thus imparting a high social status.”
To get the zebra fish drunk, they were put in tanks with a certain alcohol concentration. The highest level translated to about a .1% blood alcohol content in the fish, which is higher than the legal driving limit for adults in the U.S. (Via YouTube / Aquatic World)
But even zebra fish know when someone's had too much. The drunkest of the drunk actually lost their high social status, possibly because they just couldn't swim straight. (Via YouTube / Sachit Butail)
This isn't the researchers' first time boozing up fish. A previous study found plastered zebra fish are bad at noticing predators.
The researchers created a robotic Indian leaf fish, one of the zebra fish's predators, and placed it in the tank. The sober zebra fish fled while the drunks just kept swimming. (Via Phys.org)
And before you get any ideas about playing "follow the drunk leader," keep in mind the effect probably doesn't work the same in humans. Obviously.
