An international team led by IGB is providing one of the first proofs of the complex learning behaviour of fish in a recent study. The Atlantic sturgeon is considered extinct in Germany. The IGB is coordinating the reintroduction of these up to five meter large river giants and is investigating whether sturgeon training can increase their fitness for the wild. An important fitness factor is their feeding behavior. Already a two-week “learning lead” made the search for food more efficient. In addition, the increased formation of the transcription factor neurod1 – an important neuronal component of learning – could be demonstrated in the brain of the trained sturgeons.