1
|
Harrington KJ, Auersperg AMI, Biondi L, Lambert ML. Long-term memory in wild falcons. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R814-R815. [PMID: 39255762 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/12/2024]
Abstract
Long-term memory - information retention over long timescales - can allow animals to retain foraging skills and efficiently respond to seasonally available resources and changing environments1. Most long-term memory research is with captive species, focusing on spatial, individual or object recognition, with less known about wild species and the retention of motor task abilities, as in the case of complex foraging skills2,3. We have examined whether wild striated caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis), recently shown to rapidly and flexibly innovate with an eight-task puzzle box4, retain task memories one year later. We found that, despite no reinforcement, caracaras repeated motor techniques that led to their most recent success on tasks the year prior, solving nearly twice as fast as a naïve control group and four times faster than when naïve. Our results suggest long-term memory may be important for non-migratory opportunistic generalists, particularly in remote island environments with seasonally available resources, and further highlight how striated caracaras are promising candidates for avian cognitive studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katie J Harrington
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Alice M I Auersperg
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Laura Biondi
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMdP - CONICET, Juan B. Justo 2550, Mar del Plata B7602GSD, Argentina
| | - Megan L Lambert
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cauchard L, Bize P, Doligez B. How to solve novel problems: the role of associative learning in problem-solving performance in wild great tits Parus major. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:32. [PMID: 38607427 PMCID: PMC11014811 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01872-8] [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: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Although problem-solving tasks are frequently used to assess innovative ability, the extent to which problem-solving performance reflects variation in cognitive skills has been rarely formally investigated. Using wild breeding great tits facing a new non-food motivated problem-solving task, we investigated the role of associative learning in finding the solution, compared to multiple other non-cognitive factors. We first examined the role of accuracy (the proportion of contacts made with the opening part of a string-pulling task), neophobia, exploration, activity, age, sex, body condition and participation time on the ability to solve the task. To highlight the effect of associative learning, we then compared accuracy between solvers and non-solvers, before and after the first cue to the solution (i.e., the first time they pulled the string opening the door). We finally compared accuracy over consecutive entrances for solvers. Using 884 observations from 788 great tits tested from 2010 to 2015, we showed that, prior to initial successful entrance, solvers were more accurate and more explorative than non-solvers, and that females were more likely to solve the task than males. The accuracy of solvers, but not of non-solvers, increased significantly after they had the opportunity to associate string pulling with the movement of the door, giving them a first cue to the task solution. The accuracy of solvers also increased over successive entrances. Our results demonstrate that variations in problem-solving performance primarily reflect inherent individual differences in associative learning, and are also to a lesser extent shaped by sex and exploratory behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laure Cauchard
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, U.K..
- Anthropogenic Effects Research Group, Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-62024, Sempach, Switzerland.
| | - Pierre Bize
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, U.K
- Anthropogenic Effects Research Group, Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-62024, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Blandine Doligez
- Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, CNRS, Univ Lyon, UMR 5558, University of Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
d'Isa R, Gerlai R. Designing animal-friendly behavioral tests for neuroscience research: The importance of an ethological approach. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1090248. [PMID: 36703720 PMCID: PMC9871504 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1090248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele d'Isa
- Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), Division of Neuroscience (DNS), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Effects of early-life experience on innovation and problem-solving in captive coyotes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03251-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
|
5
|
Rowell MK, Rymer TL. Problem solving in fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rats Melomys cervinipes is not significantly influenced by maternal care or genetic effects. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 337:802-811. [PMID: 35754194 PMCID: PMC9796929 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Innovative problem solving is thought to be a flexible trait that allows animals to adjust to changing or challenging environmental conditions. However, it is not known how problem solving develops during an animal's early life, or whether it may have a heritable component. We investigated whether maternal genetic and nongenetic effects influenced problem-solving ability in a native Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. We measured direct (time spent grooming and huddling), indirect (time spent nesting), and total amount of maternal care received across pup development (postnatal Days 1-13). We measured problem solving in juveniles using matchbox tasks, and in mothers and adult offspring using six tasks of varying complexity (matchbox, cylinder, obstruction, pillar, tile, and lever tasks). We found no relationship between any maternal care measures and problem-solving abilities across multiple tests, suggesting limited (if any) maternal nongenetic effects. We also found that, as shown by low heritability estimates, problem solving only had a small heritable component in some tasks, but this was nonsignificant and requires further investigation. These results suggest that problem solving is unlikely to be constrained by maternal effects experienced during early development, and is, instead, more likely to be influenced by other factors (e.g., experience) later in an individual's lifetime.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Misha K. Rowell
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia,Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability SciencesJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| | - Tasmin L. Rymer
- College of Science and EngineeringJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia,Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability SciencesJames Cook UniversityCairnsQueenslandAustralia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Rowell MK, Santymire RM, Rymer TL. Corticosterone Metabolite Concentration Is Not Related to Problem Solving in the Fawn-Footed Mosaic-Tailed Rat Melomys Cervinipes. Animals (Basel) 2021; 12:ani12010082. [PMID: 35011188 PMCID: PMC8749903 DOI: 10.3390/ani12010082] [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: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals can respond physiologically, such as by adjusting glucocorticoid hormone concentrations, to sudden environmental challenges. These physiological changes can then affect behavioural and cognitive responses. While the relationships between adrenocortical activity and behaviour and cognition are well documented, results are equivocal, suggesting species-specific responses. We investigated whether adrenocortical activity, measured using corticosterone metabolite concentration, was related to problem solving in an Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys cervinipes). Mosaic-tailed rats live in complex environments that are prone to disturbance, suggesting a potential need to solve novel problems, and have been found to show relationships between physiology and other behaviours. We measured problem solving using five food-baited puzzles (matchbox and cylinder in the home cage, and activity board with pillars to push, tiles to slide and levers to lift in an open field), and an escape-motivated obstruction task in a light/dark box. Faecal samples were collected from individuals during routine cage cleaning. Adrenocortical activity was evaluated non-invasively by measuring faecal corticosterone metabolites using an enzyme immunoassay, which was biochemically and biologically validated. Despite varying over time, adrenocortical activity was not significantly related to problem solving success or time spent interacting for any task. However, as adrenocortical activity is reflective of multiple physiological processes, including stress and metabolism, future studies should consider how other measures of physiology are also linked to problem solving.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Misha K. Rowell
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia;
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Tasmin L. Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia;
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Rowell MK, Rymer TL. Memory enhances problem solving in the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:347-358. [PMID: 34453668 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01556-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Problem solving is important for survival, allowing animals to access novel food resources or escape from predators. It was originally thought to rely on an animal's intelligence; however, studies examining the relationship between individual cognitive ability and problem solving performance show mixed results, and studies are often restricted to only one cognitive and one problem solving task. We investigated the relationship between general cognitive ability and problem solving across multiple tasks in the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. We measured general cognitive ability across different domains (memory in an odour learning association task, recognition in a novel object recognition task, size discrimination using different sized pieces of food, and learning across multiple presentations of a food-baited activity board). We also measured problem solving across different contexts (food-baited puzzle boxes in home cage, obstruction task, and food-baited activity board in a novel arena). Mosaic-tailed rats showed a general cognitive ability, with average problem solving latency, memory ability, and learning in the tile task being correlated. As such, individuals that were able to remember an association and learned to solve the tile task solved the problems faster than individuals that could not remember or learn. Our results suggest that problem solving in mosaic-tailed rats likely relies on some forms of simple cognition, particularly memory, but could also depend on other traits, such as an individual's persistence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Misha K Rowell
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia. .,Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia.
| | - Tasmin L Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia.,Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Rowell MK, Rymer TL. Exploration influences problem solving in the fawn‐footed mosaic‐tailed rat (
Melomys cervinipes
). Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Misha Kyla Rowell
- College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns QLD Australia
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences James Cook University Cairns QLD Australia
| | - Tasmin Lee Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns QLD Australia
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences James Cook University Cairns QLD Australia
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Rowell MK, Pillay N, Rymer TL. Problem Solving in Animals: Proposal for an Ontogenetic Perspective. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:866. [PMID: 33803609 PMCID: PMC8002912 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Problem solving, the act of overcoming an obstacle to obtain an incentive, has been studied in a wide variety of taxa, and is often based on simple strategies such as trial-and-error learning, instead of higher-order cognitive processes, such as insight. There are large variations in problem solving abilities between species, populations and individuals, and this variation could arise due to differences in development, and other intrinsic (genetic, neuroendocrine and aging) and extrinsic (environmental) factors. However, experimental studies investigating the ontogeny of problem solving are lacking. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of problem solving from an ontogenetic perspective. The focus is to highlight aspects of problem solving that have been overlooked in the current literature, and highlight why developmental influences of problem-solving ability are particularly important avenues for future investigation. We argue that the ultimate outcome of solving a problem is underpinned by interacting cognitive, physiological and behavioural components, all of which are affected by ontogenetic factors. We emphasise that, due to the large number of confounding ontogenetic influences, an individual-centric approach is important for a full understanding of the development of problem solving.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Misha K. Rowell
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia;
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa;
| | - Tasmin L. Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia;
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa;
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Chow PKY, Clayton NS, Steele MA. Cognitive Performance of Wild Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Rural and Urban, Native, and Non-native Environments. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.615899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Enhanced cognitive ability has been shown to impart fitness advantages to some species by facilitating establishment in new environments. However, the cause of such enhancement remains enigmatic. Enhanced cognitive ability may be an adaptation occurring during the establishment process in response to new environments or, alternatively, such ‘enhancement’ may merely reflect a species’ characteristic. Based on previous findings that have shown ‘enhanced’ cognitive ability (i.e., higher success rate in solving novel food-extraction problems or, ‘innovation’) in Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), a successful mammalian invader and urban dweller, we used an intraspecific comparative paradigm to examine the cause of their ‘enhanced’ cognitive ability. We conducted a field study to compare cognitive performance of free-ranging squirrels residing in rural and urban habitats in native (United States) and non-native environments (United Kingdom). By using established tasks, we examined squirrels’ performance in easy and difficult, novel food-extraction problems (innovation), a motor memory recall test of the difficult problem, and a spatial learning task. We found that the four groups of squirrels showed comparable performance in most measures. However, we also found that the native urban squirrels showed: (1) higher success rate on the first visit for the difficult problem than the non-native urban squirrels; (2) some evidence for higher recall latency for the difficult problem after an extended period than the non-native rural squirrels; and (3) learning when encountering the same difficult problem. These results suggest that the previously reported ‘enhanced’ performance is likely to be a general characteristic and thus, a pre-adaptive phenotypic trait that brings fitness advantages to this species in a new environment. Despite this, some cognitive abilities in gray squirrels such as solving novel problems has undergone mild variation during the adaptive process in new environments.
Collapse
|
11
|
Abstract
This paper aimed to explore and clarify the concept of behavioral flexibility. A selective literature review explored how the concept of behavioral flexibility has been used in ways that range from acknowledging the fact that animals’ behavior is not always bounded by instinctual constraints, to describing the variation between species in their capacity for innovative foraging, a capacity that has repeatedly been linked to having a brain larger than would be predicted from body size. This wide range of usages of a single term has led to some conceptual confusion. We sought to find a more precise meaning for behavioral flexibility by representing it within a simple formal model of problem solving. The key to our model is to distinguish between an animal’s state of knowledge about the world and its observable behavior, using a construct of response strength to represent that underlying knowledge. We modelled behavioral flexibility as a parameter in the function that transforms response strengths into observable response probabilities. We tested this model in simulations based on some recent experimental work on animal problem solving. Initial results showed that parametric manipulation can mimic some of the behavioral effects that have been attributed to flexibility.
Collapse
|
12
|
Innovative problem-solving in wild hyenas is reliable across time and contexts. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13000. [PMID: 32747691 PMCID: PMC7400572 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69953-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in behavior are the raw material upon which natural selection acts, but despite increasing recognition of the value of considering individual differences in the behavior of wild animals to test evolutionary hypotheses, this approach has only recently become popular for testing cognitive abilities. In order for the intraspecific approach with wild animals to be useful for testing evolutionary hypotheses about cognition, researchers must provide evidence that measures of cognitive ability obtained from wild subjects reflect stable, general traits. Here, we used a multi-access box paradigm to investigate the intra-individual reliability of innovative problem-solving ability across time and contexts in wild spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). We also asked whether estimates of reliability were affected by factors such as age-sex class, the length of the interval between tests, or the number of times subjects were tested. We found significant contextual and temporal reliability for problem-solving. However, problem-solving was not reliable for adult subjects, when trials were separated by more than 17 days, or when fewer than seven trials were conducted per subject. In general, the estimates of reliability for problem-solving were comparable to estimates from the literature for other animal behaviors, which suggests that problem-solving is a stable, general trait in wild spotted hyenas.
Collapse
|
13
|
Chow PKY, Lea SEG, de Ibarra NH, Robert T. Inhibitory control and memory in the search process for a modified problem in grey squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:645-655. [PMID: 30976933 PMCID: PMC6687685 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01261-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Inhibiting learned behaviours when they become unproductive and searching for an alternative solution to solve a familiar but different problem are two indicators of flexibility in problem solving. A wide range of animals show these tendencies spontaneously, but what kind of search process is at play behind their problem-solving success? Here, we investigated how Eastern grey squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, solved a modified mechanical problem that required them to abandon their preferred and learned solution and search for alternative solutions to retrieve out-of-reach food rewards. Squirrels could solve the problem by engaging in either an exhaustive search (i.e., using trial-and-error to access the reward) or a 'backup' solution search (i.e., recalling a previously successful but non-preferred solution). We found that all squirrels successfully solved the modified problem on their first trial and showed solving durations comparable to their last experience of using their preferred solution. Their success and high efficiency could be explained by their high level of inhibitory control as the squirrels did not persistently emit the learned and preferred, but now ineffective, pushing behaviour. Although the squirrels had minimal experience in using the alternative (non-preferred) successful solution, they used it directly or after one or two failed attempts to achieve success. Thus, the squirrels were using the 'backup' solution search process. Such a process is likely a form of generalisation which involves retrieving related information of an experienced problem and applying previous successful experience during problem solving. Overall, our results provide information regarding the search process underlying the flexibility observable in problem-solving success.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pizza Ka Yee Chow
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK. .,Division of Biosphere Science, Faculty of Env. Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan. .,Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany.
| | - Stephen E G Lea
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Natalie Hempel de Ibarra
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Théo Robert
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK.,Graduate School of Agriculture, Tamagawa University, Machida, Tokyo, 194-8610, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
A battle of wits? Problem-solving abilities in invasive eastern grey squirrels and native Eurasian red squirrels. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|