1
|
Arbon JJ, Hahn LG, McIvor GE, Thornton A. Competition and generalization impede cultural formation in wild jackdaws. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230705. [PMID: 37554031 PMCID: PMC10410225 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal cultures have now been demonstrated experimentally in diverse taxa from flies to great apes. However, experiments commonly use tasks with unrestricted access to equal pay-offs and innovations seeded by demonstrators who are trained to exhibit strong preferences. Such conditions may not reflect those typically found in nature. For example, the learned preferences of natural innovators may be weaker, while competition for depleting resources can favour switching between strategies and generalizing from past experience. Here we show that in experiments where wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula) can freely discover depleting supplies of novel foods, generalization has a powerful effect on learning, allowing individuals to exploit multiple new opportunities through both social and individual learning. Further, in contrast to studies with trained demonstrators, individuals that were first to innovate showed weak preferences. As a consequence, many individuals ate all available novel foods, displaying no strong preference and no group-level culture emerged. Individuals followed a 'learn from adults' strategy, but other demographic factors played a minimal role in shaping social transmission. These results demonstrate the importance of generalization in allowing animals to exploit new opportunities and highlight how natural competitive dynamics may impede the formation of culture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Josh J. Arbon
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, UK
| | - Luca G. Hahn
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Guillam E. McIvor
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Treliever Road, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
From whom do animals learn? A meta-analysis on model-based social learning. Psychon Bull Rev 2023:10.3758/s13423-022-02236-4. [PMID: 36609963 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02236-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Social learning via the observation of or interaction with other individuals can allow animals to obtain information about the local environment. Once social information is obtained, animals may or may not act on and use this information. Animals may learn from others selectively based on particular characteristics (e.g., familiarity, age, dominance) of the information provider, which is thought to maximize the benefits of social learning. Biases to copy certain individuals over others plays an important role in how information is transmitted and used among individuals, and can influence the emergence of group-level behaviors (i.e., traditions). Two underlying factors can affect from whom animals learn: the population social dynamics - with whom you associate (e.g., familiar), and status of the demonstrator (e.g., dominant). We systematically surveyed the literature and conducted a meta-analysis to test whether demonstrator characteristics consistently influence social learning, and if social dynamics strategies differ from status strategies in their influence on social learning. We extracted effect sizes from papers that used an observer-demonstrator paradigm to test if the characteristics of the individual providing social information (i.e., the demonstrator) influence social information use by observers. We obtained 139 effect sizes on 33 species from 54 experiments. First, we found an effect of experimental design on the influence of demonstrator characteristics on social learning: between-subject designs had stronger effects compared to within-subject designs. Second, we found that demonstrator characteristics do indeed influence social learning. Characteristics based on social dynamics and characteristics based on status had a significant effect on social learning, especially when copying familiar and kin demonstrators. These results highlight the role that demonstrator characteristics play on social learning, which can have implications for the formation and establishment of behavioural traditions in animals.
Collapse
|
3
|
Watson SK, Filippi P, Gasparri L, Falk N, Tamer N, Widmer P, Manser M, Glock H. Optionality in animal communication: a novel framework for examining the evolution of arbitrariness. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:2057-2075. [PMID: 35818133 PMCID: PMC9795909 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A critical feature of language is that the form of words need not bear any perceptual similarity to their function - these relationships can be 'arbitrary'. The capacity to process these arbitrary form-function associations facilitates the enormous expressive power of language. However, the evolutionary roots of our capacity for arbitrariness, i.e. the extent to which related abilities may be shared with animals, is largely unexamined. We argue this is due to the challenges of applying such an intrinsically linguistic concept to animal communication, and address this by proposing a novel conceptual framework highlighting a key underpinning of linguistic arbitrariness, which is nevertheless applicable to non-human species. Specifically, we focus on the capacity to associate alternative functions with a signal, or alternative signals with a function, a feature we refer to as optionality. We apply this framework to a broad survey of findings from animal communication studies and identify five key dimensions of communicative optionality: signal production, signal adjustment, signal usage, signal combinatoriality and signal perception. We find that optionality is widespread in non-human animals across each of these dimensions, although only humans demonstrate it in all five. Finally, we discuss the relevance of optionality to behavioural and cognitive domains outside of communication. This investigation provides a powerful new conceptual framework for the cross-species investigation of the origins of arbitrariness, and promises to generate original insights into animal communication and language evolution more generally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K. Watson
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Piera Filippi
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Luca Gasparri
- Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland,Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8163 – STL – Savoirs Textes LangageF‐59000LilleFrance
| | - Nikola Falk
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Nicole Tamer
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Paul Widmer
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Marta Manser
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Hans‐Johann Glock
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Chimento M, Barrett BJ, Kandler A, Aplin LM. Cultural diffusion dynamics depend on behavioural production rules. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221001. [PMID: 35946158 PMCID: PMC9363993 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Culture is an outcome of both the acquisition of knowledge about behaviour through social transmission, and its subsequent production by individuals. Acquisition and production are often discussed or modelled interchangeably, yet to date no study has explored the consequences of their interaction for cultural diffusions. We present a generative model that integrates the two, and ask how variation in production rules might influence diffusion dynamics. Agents make behavioural choices that change as they learn from their productions. Their repertoires may also change, and the acquisition of behaviour is conditioned on its frequency. We analyse the diffusion of a novel behaviour through social networks, yielding generalizable predictions of how individual-level behavioural production rules influence population-level diffusion dynamics. We then investigate how linking acquisition and production might affect the performance of two commonly used inferential models for social learning; network-based diffusion analysis, and experience-weighted attraction models. We find that the influence that production rules have on diffusion dynamics has consequences for how inferential methods are applied to empirical data. Our model illuminates the differences between social learning and social influence, demonstrates the overlooked role of reinforcement learning in cultural diffusions, and allows for clearer discussions about social learning strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Chimento
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany
| | - Brendan J Barrett
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Anne Kandler
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany.,Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivan Creek Road, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Migliano AB, Vinicius L. The origins of human cumulative culture: from the foraging niche to collective intelligence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200317. [PMID: 34894737 PMCID: PMC8666907 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Various studies have investigated cognitive mechanisms underlying culture in humans and other great apes. However, the adaptive reasons for the evolution of uniquely sophisticated cumulative culture in our species remain unclear. We propose that the cultural capabilities of humans are the evolutionary result of a stepwise transition from the ape-like lifestyle of earlier hominins to the foraging niche still observed in extant hunter-gatherers. Recent ethnographic, archaeological and genetic studies have provided compelling evidence that the components of the foraging niche (social egalitarianism, sexual and social division of labour, extensive co-residence and cooperation with unrelated individuals, multilocality, fluid sociality and high between-camp mobility) engendered a unique multilevel social structure where the cognitive mechanisms underlying cultural evolution (high-fidelity transmission, innovation, teaching, recombination, ratcheting) evolved as adaptations. Therefore, multilevel sociality underlies a 'social ratchet' or irreversible task specialization splitting the burden of cultural knowledge across individuals, which may explain why human collective intelligence is uniquely able to produce sophisticated cumulative culture. The foraging niche perspective may explain why a complex gene-culture dual inheritance system evolved uniquely in humans and interprets the cultural, morphological and genetic origins of Homo sapiens as a process of recombination of innovations appearing in differentiated but interconnected populations. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucio Vinicius
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, ZH, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Easter C, Rowlands A, Hassall C, Hoppitt W. Aggression‐based social learning in the zebra finch (
Taeniopygia guttata
). Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carrie Easter
- Faculty of Biological Sciences University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Luna D, González C, Byrd CJ, Palomo R, Huenul E, Figueroa J. The Effect of Demonstrator Social Rank on the Attentiveness and Motivation of Pigs to Positively Interact with Their Human Caretakers. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11072140. [PMID: 34359267 PMCID: PMC8300723 DOI: 10.3390/ani11072140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Motivation to express a socially learned behavior can be inhibited or facilitated by the presence of socially dominant individuals, who often attract greater attention from their conspecifics. This study investigated whether experienced pigs (termed “demonstrators”) of higher rank attract greater attention from their pen mates when they are observed from behind an acrylic panel while being gently handled by the stockperson. We also investigated whether the presence of a demonstrator pig of different social rank, who previously established a positive relationship with the stockperson in presence of conspecifics, affects the motivation and behaviors of their pen mates to positively interact with humans. Our results show that during the gentle handling of the demonstrator, there was an overall preference for observer pigs to visually attend to the dominant demonstrators more than the low-ranking demonstrators. Furthermore, our study shows that the proximity of a dominant demonstrator pig interfered with the motivation of their pen mates to positively interact with the stockperson, whereas the presence of a subordinate demonstrator facilitated the expression of a greater affinity toward the human, resulting in longer physical contact, and a higher percentage of accepted strokes. These findings reveal that social dynamics and dominance rank have a strong effect on the attentional state and the facilitation and inhibition of social behaviors in domestic pigs. Abstract In this study, we addressed the social attentiveness, as well as the phenomenon of social facilitation and inhibition in the context of a positive human–pig relationship. Specifically, we investigated whether the social rank of an experienced pig (termed “demonstrator”) has an effect on the attentiveness of the remaining pen mates (N = 40) when they observe the demonstrator being gently handled by a stockperson from behind an acrylic panel. We found that pigs preferentially attended to dominant demonstrators rather than subordinate demonstrators during their gentle handling sessions with the stockperson. Additionally, we also examined whether the presence of a demonstrator pig of different social rank, who previously established a positive relationship with the stockperson in presence of conspecifics, affects the behavior and motivation of their pen mates to positively interact with the stockperson. To test for the effect of the presence and demonstrator’s social rank on pen mate interactions with the stockperson, we evaluated the behavior of domestic pigs (N = 65) toward the stockperson using a human-approach test in their home-pen. Pigs showed a decrease in their motivation to positively interact with the stockperson when a socially dominant demonstrator was present, behaving similarly to animals receiving minimal human contact (control group). Overall, they exhibited a greater latency to physical contact, a lower acceptance of stroking, and spent more time looking at the stockperson compared to pigs exposed to subordinate demonstrators. Taken together, these findings expand our current understanding of pigs’ cognition and social behavior, and the nature of social attention bias in farm animals. Our findings indicate that positive handling of previously selected subordinate demonstrators seems to be the best strategy to reduce the level of fear in large groups of pigs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Luna
- Departamento de Ciencias Animales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile; (D.L.); (C.G.); (E.H.)
| | - Catalina González
- Departamento de Ciencias Animales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile; (D.L.); (C.G.); (E.H.)
| | - Christopher J. Byrd
- Deparment of Animal Sciences, North Dakota State University, NDSU Dept. 7630, P.O. Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA;
| | - Rocío Palomo
- Departamento de Fomento de la Producción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa 11735, La Pintana, Santiago 8820000, Chile;
| | - Elizabeth Huenul
- Departamento de Ciencias Animales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile; (D.L.); (C.G.); (E.H.)
| | - Jaime Figueroa
- Instituto de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Animales y Ambientales—ICA3, Universidad de O’Higgins, San Fernando 3070000, Chile
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +56-22-3544092
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Borgeaud C, Jankowiak B, Aellen M, Dunbar RI, Bshary R. Vervet monkeys socialize more when time budget constraints are experimentally reduced. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christèle Borgeaud
- Institute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project Mawana Game Reserve KwaZulu Natal South Africa
| | - Béatrice Jankowiak
- Inkawu Vervet Project Mawana Game Reserve KwaZulu Natal South Africa
- University of Strasbourg Strasbourg Cedex France
| | - Mélisande Aellen
- Institute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project Mawana Game Reserve KwaZulu Natal South Africa
| | - Robin I.M. Dunbar
- Department of Experimental Psychology University of Oxford, Social & Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group Oxford UK
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Institute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project Mawana Game Reserve KwaZulu Natal South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Vale GL, McGuigan N, Burdett E, Lambeth SP, Lucas A, Rawlings B, Schapiro SJ, Watson SK, Whiten A. Why do chimpanzees have diverse behavioral repertoires yet lack more complex cultures? Invention and social information use in a cumulative task. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
10
|
Bandini E, Tennie C. Exploring the role of individual learning in animal tool-use. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9877. [PMID: 33033659 PMCID: PMC7521350 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The notion that tool-use is unique to humans has long been refuted by the growing number of observations of animals using tools across various contexts. Yet, the mechanisms behind the emergence and sustenance of these tool-use repertoires are still heavily debated. We argue that the current animal behaviour literature is biased towards a social learning approach, in which animal, and in particular primate, tool-use repertoires are thought to require social learning mechanisms (copying variants of social learning are most often invoked). However, concrete evidence for a widespread dependency on social learning is still lacking. On the other hand, a growing body of observational and experimental data demonstrates that various animal species are capable of acquiring the forms of their tool-use behaviours via individual learning, with (non-copying) social learning regulating the frequencies of the behavioural forms within (and, indirectly, between) groups. As a first outline of the extent of the role of individual learning in animal tool-use, a literature review of reports of the spontaneous acquisition of animal tool-use behaviours was carried out across observational and experimental studies. The results of this review suggest that perhaps due to the pervasive focus on social learning in the literature, accounts of the individual learning of tool-use forms by naïve animals may have been largely overlooked, and their importance under-examined.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Bandini
- Department of Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Department of Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Neophobia and social facilitation in narrow-striped mongooses. Anim Cogn 2020; 24:165-175. [PMID: 32955622 PMCID: PMC7829228 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01429-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2019] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Social learning is widespread in the animal kingdom, but individuals can differ in how they acquire and use social information. Personality traits, such as neophobia, may, for example, promote individual learning strategies. Here, we contribute comparative data on social learning strategies in carnivorans by examining whether narrow-striped mongooses (Mungotictis decemlineata), a group-living Malagasy euplerid, learn socially and whether neophobia influences social learning. To this end, we tested seven wild female groups with a two-option artificial feeding box, using a demonstrator–observer paradigm, and conducted novel object tests to assess neophobia. In five groups, one individual was trained as a demonstrator displaying one of the techniques, whereas the other two groups served as control groups. Neophobia did not co-vary with an individual’s propensity to seek social information. However, less neophobic individuals, and individuals that tended to seek social information, learned the task faster. Moreover, individuals in demonstrator groups learned the task faster than those in groups without a demonstrator and used the demonstrated technique more often. Hence, narrow-striped mongooses rely on social facilitation and local or stimulus enhancement to solve new problems. Finally, our results suggest that several individual characteristics should be taken into consideration to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of social learning strategies.
Collapse
|
12
|
Environmental and life history factors, but not age, influence social learning about food: a meta-analysis. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
|
13
|
Bandini E, Harrison RA. Innovation in chimpanzees. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1167-1197. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Bandini
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology The University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Rachel A. Harrison
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Canteloup C, Hoppitt W, van de Waal E. Wild primates copy higher-ranked individuals in a social transmission experiment. Nat Commun 2020; 11:459. [PMID: 31974385 PMCID: PMC6978360 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14209-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about how multiple social learning strategies interact and how organisms integrate both individual and social information. Here we combine, in a wild primate, an open diffusion experiment with a modeling approach: Network-Based Diffusion Analysis using a dynamic observation network. The vervet monkeys we study were not provided with a trained model; instead they had access to eight foraging boxes that could be opened in either of two ways. We report that individuals socially learn the techniques they observe in others. After having learnt one option, individuals are 31x more likely to subsequently asocially learn the other option than individuals naïve to both options. We discover evidence of a rank transmission bias favoring learning from higher-ranked individuals, with no evidence for age, sex or kin bias. This fine-grained analysis highlights a rank transmission bias in a field experiment mimicking the diffusion of a behavioral innovation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Canteloup
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. .,Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, 3115, South Africa. .,Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - William Hoppitt
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK
| | - Erica van de Waal
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, 3115, South Africa.,Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Tennie C, Bandini E, van Schaik CP, Hopper LM. The zone of latent solutions and its relevance to understanding ape cultures. BIOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY 2020; 35:55. [PMID: 33093737 PMCID: PMC7548278 DOI: 10.1007/s10539-020-09769-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The zone of latent solutions (ZLS) hypothesis provides an alternative approach to explaining cultural patterns in primates and many other animals. According to the ZLS hypothesis, non-human great ape (henceforth: ape) cultures consist largely or solely of latent solutions. The current competing (and predominant) hypothesis for ape culture argues instead that at least some of their behavioural or artefact forms are copied through specific social learning mechanisms ("copying social learning hypothesis") and that their forms may depend on copying (copying-dependent forms). In contrast, the ape ZLS hypothesis does not require these forms to be copied. Instead, it suggests that several (non-form-copying) social learning mechanisms help determine the frequency (but typically not the form) of these behaviours and artefacts within connected individuals. The ZLS hypothesis thus suggests that increases and stabilisations of a particular behaviour's or artefact's frequency can derive from socially-mediated (cued) form reinnovations. Therefore, and while genes and ecology play important roles as well, according to the ape ZLS hypothesis, apes typically acquire the forms of their behaviours and artefacts individually, but are usually socially induced to do so (provided sufficient opportunity, necessity, motivation and timing). The ZLS approach is often criticized-perhaps also because it challenges the current null hypothesis, which instead assumes a requirement of form-copying social learning mechanisms to explain many ape behavioural (and/or artefact) forms. However, as the ZLS hypothesis is a new approach, with less accumulated literature compared to the current null hypothesis, some confusion is to be expected. Here, we clarify the ZLS approach-also in relation to other competing hypotheses-and address misconceptions and objections. We believe that these clarifications will provide researchers with a coherent theoretical approach and an experimental methodology to examine the necessity of form-copying variants of social learning in apes, humans and other species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Tennie
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Bandini
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Carel P. van Schaik
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lydia M. Hopper
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Primates are living links to our past: The contribution of comparative studies with wild vervet monkeys to the field of social cognition. Cortex 2019; 118:65-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
|
17
|
Shorland G, Genty E, Guéry JP, Zuberbühler K. Social learning of arbitrary food preferences in bonobos. Behav Processes 2019; 167:103912. [PMID: 31344448 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A fruitful approach to investigate social learning in animals is based on paradigms involving the manipulation of artefacts. However, tool use and elaborate object manipulations are rare in natural conditions, suggesting that social learning evolved in other contexts where fitness consequences are higher, such as discriminating palatable from noxious foods, recognising predators or understanding social hierarchies. We focussed on one such context by investigating whether bonobos socially learned others' arbitrary food preferences through mere observation. To this end, we trained two demonstrators to prefer or avoid distinctly coloured food items, treated with either a sweet or bitter agent. Demonstrators then displayed their newly acquired preferences in front of naïve subjects. In subsequent choice tests, subjects generally matched their choices to the demonstrators' preferred food colours, despite having already tasted the equally palatable colour alternative. Both age and exposure to demonstrator preference had a significant positive effect on the proportion of matched choices. Moreover, in a context where errors can be costly, social learning was instant insofar as six of seven subjects used socially learned information to influence their very first food choice. We discuss these findings in light of the current debate on the evolution of social learning in animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gladez Shorland
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
| | - Emilie Genty
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Institute of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Pascal Guéry
- La Vallée des Singes Primate park, Le Gureau, 86700, Romagne, France
| | - Klaus Zuberbühler
- Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; School of Psychology and Neurosciences, University of St Andrews, St Mary's Quad, South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Neal Webb SJ, Hau J, Schapiro SJ. Relationships between captive chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes) welfare and voluntary participation in behavioural studies. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2019; 214:102-109. [PMID: 31244501 PMCID: PMC6594403 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Voluntary participation in behavioural studies offers several scientific, management, and welfare benefits to non-human primates (NHPs). Aside from the scientific benefit of increased understanding of NHP cognition, sociality, and behaviour derived from noninvasive behavioural studies, participation itself has the potential to provide functional simulations of natural behaviours, enrichment opportunities, and increased control over the captive environment, all of which enhance welfare. Despite a developing consensus that voluntary participation offers these welfare enhancements, little research has empirically investigated the ways that participation in behavioural studies may affect welfare. In the current study, we investigated potential relationships between captive chimpanzee welfare and long-term, repeated voluntary participation in noninvasive behavioural studies. We collected behavioural data on 118 chimpanzees at the National Center for Chimpanzee Care (NCCC) in Bastrop, Texas, USA between 2016 and 2018 using 15-minute focal animal samples. Additionally, we collected information on 41 behavioural studies conducted between 2010 and 2018 with the NCCC chimpanzees that involved exposure to a stimulus or manipulation. The total number of behavioural studies in which chimpanzees had participated over the approximately eight-year period was then examined in relation to levels of behavioural diversity, abnormal behaviour, rough scratching, inactivity, and locomotion using a series of regression analyses that controlled for rearing status and age of the chimpanzee at the time of data collection. Analyses revealed significant, positive relationships between the total number of studies in which chimpanzees participated and 1) behavioural diversity scores, R2 adj = .21, F(3,114) = 11.25, p < 0.001; and 2) rough scratching, R2 adj = .11, F(3,114) = 6.01, p = 0.001. The positive relationship between behavioural diversity scores and the total number of studies in which chimpanzees participated seems unsurprising, although we cannot draw conclusions about the directionality of this relationship. The result that rough scratching and the total number of studies in which chimpanzees participated were positively correlated is unexpected. However, rough scratching made up less than 1% of all activity in the current study, and as such, this result may not be biologically meaningful. These findings suggest that participation in behavioural studies is not likely to be detrimental to chimpanzee well-being, and may even be beneficial. Data such as these, which empirically investigate existing recommendations can help inform decisions pertaining to the participation of chimpanzees in behavioural research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J. Neal Webb
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, 650 Cool Water Drive, Bastrop, TX, 78602
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Jann Hau
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Steven J. Schapiro
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, 650 Cool Water Drive, Bastrop, TX, 78602
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Social attention biases in juvenile wild vervet monkeys: implications for socialisation and social learning processes. Primates 2019; 60:261-275. [PMID: 30941537 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00721-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The concept of directed social learning predicts that social learning opportunities for an individual will depend on social dynamics, context and demonstrator identity. However, few empirical studies have examined social attention biases in animal groups. Sex-based and kinship-based biases in social learning and social attention towards females have been shown in a despotic and female philopatric primate: the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus). The present study examined social attention during the juvenile period. Social attention was recorded through 5-min focal observations during periods of natural foraging. Kin emerged as the most important focus of social attention in juveniles, intensified by biased spatial proximity towards matrilineal related members. The highest-ranking conspecifics were more frequently observed by juveniles than low-ranking ones. Additionally, younger and orphaned juveniles showed higher levels of social attention overall, compared to other age categories. No effect of the juvenile's hierarchical rank was detected, suggesting that the variation in social attention recorded reflects different biases and stages of social learning and socialisation, rather than social anxiety. Juvenile females tended to exhibit a dominance-based bias more strongly than did males. This might be explained by a greater emphasis on attaining social knowledge during juvenile socialisation in the philopatric sex. Moreover, despite a preferred association between juveniles, social attention was more often directed to adults, suggesting that adults may still be more often chosen as a target of attention independent of their dominance rank.
Collapse
|
20
|
Sueur C, Romano V, Sosa S, Puga-Gonzalez I. Mechanisms of network evolution: a focus on socioecological factors, intermediary mechanisms, and selection pressures. Primates 2018; 60:167-181. [PMID: 30206778 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0682-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Sueur
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC, UMR 7178, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Valéria Romano
- Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Sebastian Sosa
- Primates and Evolution Anthropology Laboratory, Anthropology Department, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ivan Puga-Gonzalez
- Institute for Religion, Philosophy and History, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Vale GL, Flynn EG, Kendal J, Rawlings B, Hopper LM, Schapiro SJ, Lambeth SP, Kendal RL. Testing differential use of payoff-biased social learning strategies in children and chimpanzees. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1751. [PMID: 29187629 PMCID: PMC5740275 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Various non-human animal species have been shown to exhibit behavioural traditions. Importantly, this research has been guided by what we know of human culture, and the question of whether animal cultures may be homologous or analogous to our own culture. In this paper, we assess whether models of human cultural transmission are relevant to understanding biological fundamentals by investigating whether accounts of human payoff-biased social learning are relevant to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We submitted 4- and 5-year-old children (N = 90) and captive chimpanzees (N = 69) to a token–reward exchange task. The results revealed different forms of payoff-biased learning across species and contexts. Specifically, following personal and social exposure to different tokens, children's exchange behaviour was consistent with proportional imitation, where choice is affected by both prior personally acquired and socially demonstrated token–reward information. However, when the socially derived information regarding token value was novel, children's behaviour was consistent with proportional observation; paying attention to socially derived information and ignoring their prior personal experience. By contrast, chimpanzees' token choice was governed by their own prior experience only, with no effect of social demonstration on token choice, conforming to proportional reservation. We also find evidence for individual- and group-level differences in behaviour in both species. Despite the difference in payoff strategies used, both chimpanzees and children adopted beneficial traits when available. However, the strategies of the children are expected to be the most beneficial in promoting flexible behaviour by enabling existing behaviours to be updated or replaced with new and often superior ones.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gillian L Vale
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA .,Department of Psychology and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Emma G Flynn
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Jeremy Kendal
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Bruce Rawlings
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Lydia M Hopper
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Rachel L Kendal
- Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Durham, UK
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Watson SK, Vale GL, Hopper LM, Dean LG, Kendal RL, Price EE, Wood LA, Davis SJ, Schapiro SJ, Lambeth SP, Whiten A. Chimpanzees demonstrate individual differences in social information use. Anim Cogn 2018; 21:639-650. [PMID: 29922865 PMCID: PMC6097074 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-1198-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Studies of transmission biases in social learning have greatly informed our understanding of how behaviour patterns may diffuse through animal populations, yet within-species inter-individual variation in social information use has received little attention and remains poorly understood. We have addressed this question by examining individual performances across multiple experiments with the same population of primates. We compiled a dataset spanning 16 social learning studies (26 experimental conditions) carried out at the same study site over a 12-year period, incorporating a total of 167 chimpanzees. We applied a binary scoring system to code each participant's performance in each study according to whether they demonstrated evidence of using social information from conspecifics to solve the experimental task or not (Social Information Score-'SIS'). Bayesian binomial mixed effects models were then used to estimate the extent to which individual differences influenced SIS, together with any effects of sex, rearing history, age, prior involvement in research and task type on SIS. An estimate of repeatability found that approximately half of the variance in SIS was accounted for by individual identity, indicating that individual differences play a critical role in the social learning behaviour of chimpanzees. According to the model that best fit the data, females were, depending on their rearing history, 15-24% more likely to use social information to solve experimental tasks than males. However, there was no strong evidence of an effect of age or research experience, and pedigree records indicated that SIS was not a strongly heritable trait. Our study offers a novel, transferable method for the study of individual differences in social learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K Watson
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Gillian L Vale
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Department of Veterinary Sciences, National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Lydia M Hopper
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA
| | - Lewis G Dean
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Rachel L Kendal
- Department of Anthropology, Centre for the Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Elizabeth E Price
- Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Lara A Wood
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Division of Psychology, Abertay University, Bell Street, Dundee, UK
| | - Sarah J Davis
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA.,Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Chimpanzees prioritise social information over pre-existing behaviours in a group context but not in dyads. Anim Cogn 2018; 21:407-418. [PMID: 29574554 PMCID: PMC5908815 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-1178-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
How animal communities arrive at homogeneous behavioural preferences is a central question for studies of cultural evolution. Here, we investigated whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) would relinquish a pre-existing behaviour to adopt an alternative demonstrated by an overwhelming majority of group mates; in other words, whether chimpanzees behave in a conformist manner. In each of five groups of chimpanzees (N = 37), one individual was trained on one method of opening a two-action puzzle box to obtain food, while the remaining individuals learned the alternative method. Over 5 h of open access to the apparatus in a group context, it was found that 4/5 ‘minority’ individuals explored the majority method and three of these used this new method in the majority of trials. Those that switched did so after observing only a small subset of their group, thereby not matching conventional definitions of conformity. In a further ‘Dyad’ condition, six pairs of chimpanzees were trained on alternative methods and then given access to the task together. Only one of these individuals ever switched method. The number of observations that individuals in the minority and Dyad individuals made of their untrained method was not found to influence whether or not they themselves switched to use it. In a final ‘Asocial’ condition, individuals (N = 10) did not receive social information and did not deviate from their first-learned method. We argue that these results demonstrate an important influence of social context upon prioritisation of social information over pre-existing methods, which can result in group homogeneity of behaviour.
Collapse
|
24
|
Harrison RA, Whiten A. Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) display limited behavioural flexibility when faced with a changing foraging task requiring tool use. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4366. [PMID: 29479495 PMCID: PMC5822838 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioural flexibility, the ability to alter behaviour in response to environmental feedback, and to relinquish previously successful solutions to problems, is a crucial ability in allowing organisms to adapt to novel environments and environmental change; it is essential to cumulative cultural change. To explore this ability in chimpanzees, 18 individuals (Pan troglodytes) were presented with an artificial foraging task consisting of a tube partially filled with juice that could be reached by hand or retrieved using tool materials to hand. Effective solutions were then restricted in the second phase of the study by narrowing the diameter of the tube, necessitating the abandonment of previously successful solutions. Chimpanzees showed limited behavioural flexibility in comparison to some previous studies, increasing their use of effective techniques, but also continuing to attempt solutions that had been rendered ineffective. This adds to a literature reporting divergent evidence for flexibility (the ability to alter behaviour in response to environmental feedback, and to relinquish previously successful solutions to problems) versus conservatism (a reluctance or inability to explore or adopt novel solutions to problems when a solution is already known) in apes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A Harrison
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom.,School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Field experiments with wild primates reveal no consistent dominance-based bias in social learning. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
26
|
Borgeaud C, Sosa S, Sueur C, Bshary R. The influence of demographic variation on social network stability in wild vervet monkeys. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
|
27
|
Bidding evidence for primate vocal learning and the cultural substrates for speech evolution. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 83:429-439. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/21/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
28
|
Forss SIF, Koski SE, van Schaik CP. Explaining the Paradox of Neophobic Explorers: The Social Information Hypothesis. INT J PRIMATOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-017-9984-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
29
|
Sousa AMM, Meyer KA, Santpere G, Gulden FO, Sestan N. Evolution of the Human Nervous System Function, Structure, and Development. Cell 2017; 170:226-247. [PMID: 28708995 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The nervous system-in particular, the brain and its cognitive abilities-is among humans' most distinctive and impressive attributes. How the nervous system has changed in the human lineage and how it differs from that of closely related primates is not well understood. Here, we consider recent comparative analyses of extant species that are uncovering new evidence for evolutionary changes in the size and the number of neurons in the human nervous system, as well as the cellular and molecular reorganization of its neural circuits. We also discuss the developmental mechanisms and underlying genetic and molecular changes that generate these structural and functional differences. As relevant new information and tools materialize at an unprecedented pace, the field is now ripe for systematic and functionally relevant studies of the development and evolution of human nervous system specializations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- André M M Sousa
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Kyle A Meyer
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Gabriel Santpere
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Forrest O Gulden
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Nenad Sestan
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| |
Collapse
|