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Freiburger T, Miller N, Skinner M. Olfactory self-recognition in two species of snake. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240125. [PMID: 38565155 PMCID: PMC10987230 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0125] [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: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Mark tests, in which an animal uses a mirror to locate and examine an otherwise unnoticeable mark on its own body, are commonly used to assess self-recognition, which may have implications for self-awareness. Recently, several olfactory-reliant species have appeared to pass odour-based versions of the mark test, though it has never been attempted in reptiles. We conducted an odour-based mark test on two species of snakes, Eastern gartersnakes and ball pythons, with widely divergent ecologies (i.e. terrestrial foragers that communally brumate versus semi-arboreal ambush predators that do not). We find that gartersnakes, but not ball pythons, pass the test, and a range of control tests suggest this is based on self-recognition. Gartersnakes are more social than ball pythons, supporting recent suggestions that social species are more likely to self-recognize. These results open the door to examination of the ecology of self-recognition, and suggest that this ability may evolve in response to species-specific ecological challenges, some of which may align with complexity of social structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Troy Freiburger
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3C5
| | - Noam Miller
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3C5
| | - Morgan Skinner
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3C5
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Tomberg C, Petagna M, de Selliers de Moranville LA. Horses (Equus caballus) facial micro-expressions: insight into discreet social information. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8625. [PMID: 37244937 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35807-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Facial micro-expressions are facial expressions expressed briefly (less than 500 ms) and involuntarily. Described only in humans, we investigated whether micro-expressions could also be expressed by non-human animal species. Using the Equine Facial action coding system (EquiFACS), an objective tool based on facial muscles actions, we demonstrated that a non-human species, Equus caballus, is expressing facial micro-expressions in a social context. The AU17, AD38 and AD1 were selectively modulated as micro-expression-but not as standard facial expression (all durations included)-in presence of a human experimenter. As standard facial expressions, they have been associated with pain or stress but our results didn't support this association for micro-expressions which may convey other information. Like in humans, neural mechanisms underlying the exhibit of micro-expressions may differ from those of standard facial expressions. We found that some micro-expressions could be related to attention and involved in the multisensory processing of the 'fixed attention' observed in horses' high attentional state. The micro-expressions could be used by horses as social information in an interspecies relationship. We hypothesize that facial micro-expressions could be a window on transient internal states of the animal and may provide subtle and discreet social signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claude Tomberg
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, Route de Lennik, CP 630, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Maxime Petagna
- Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, Route de Lennik, CP 630, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
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Lin Y, Pei E, Liu Q, Ma J, Zhang E, Zhao J, Chen M. Mirror responses in African grey parrot ( Psittacus erithacus) support the gradualist perspective on mirror self-recognition. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2023.2178031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Lin
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
- Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education & Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, 38 Dongwang Avenue, Shanghai 202183, China
| | - Enle Pei
- Shanghai Zoo, 2381 Hongqiao Road, Shanghai 200336, China
| | - Qunxiu Liu
- School of Health and Social Care, Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, 2080 Nanting Road, Shanghai 201415, China
| | - Jun Ma
- Shanghai Zoo, 2381 Hongqiao Road, Shanghai 200336, China
| | - Endi Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
- Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education & Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, 38 Dongwang Avenue, Shanghai 202183, China
| | - Junyi Zhao
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Min Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
- Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education & Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, 38 Dongwang Avenue, Shanghai 202183, China
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Baciadonna L, Cornero FM, Clayton NS, Emery NJ. Mirror stimulation in Eurasian jays ( Garrulus glandarius). PeerJ 2023; 11:e14729. [PMID: 36819998 PMCID: PMC9938653 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Mirror exposure elicits a wide range of behavioral responses, some of which have been considered as part of possible evidence of mirror self-recognition (MSR). These responses can range from social behaviors, indicating that an animal considers its own reflection as a conspecific, to mirror-guided and self-directed actions. Evidence of MSR has been found categorically in only a few species, such as in magpies, chimpanzees, horses, and elephants. Evidence in corvids is currently debated due to inconsistent findings. In this study, we investigated the reaction of Eurasian jays when presenting them with three mirror-stimulation tasks. Based on the overall behavioral patterns across these three tasks, conclusions about birds' understanding of a reflective surface, and their perception of the reflection as either themselves or as a conspecific, appear premature. We highlight how the high neophobia of corvids and other methodological constraints might have hindered the likelihood to approach and explore a mirror, preventing the emergence of behaviors typically associated with MSR. Furthermore, we discuss how motivational factors, methodological constraints and species differences should be considered when interpreting behavioral responses to mirrors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Baciadonna
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom,Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Nicola S. Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Nathan J. Emery
- Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Getting rid of blinkers: the case of mirror self-recognition in horses (Equus caballus). Anim Cogn 2022; 25:711-716. [PMID: 35704243 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01638-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
The commentary by Gallup and Anderson (Anim Cogn https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01538-9 , 2021) on the original article by Baragli, Scopa, Maglieri, and Palagi (Anim Cogn https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01502-7 , 2021) raised some concerns about the methodological approach used by the authors to demonstrate Mirror Self-Recognition (MSR) in horses. The commentary does not take into account horse physiology and psychology, leading Gallup and Anderson to inappropriately discredit the findings obtained by Baragli et al. Anim Cogn 2021. In this reply, we underlined the importance of a blinker-free approach to understand the evolutionary processes at the basis of animal cognition.
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Burghardt GM, Partin AM, Pepper HE, Steele JM, Liske SM, Stokes AE, Lathan AN, Springer CM, Jenkins MS. Chemically mediated self-recognition in sibling juvenile common gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) reared on same or different diets: evidence for a chemical mirror? BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Although self-recognition or self-awareness has been studied with the visually-based mirror test, passed by several species, primarily apes, the possibility of a chemically-based analogue is controversial. Prior studies suggested that chemical self-recognition may occur in some squamate reptiles. To evaluate this possibility, we studied 24 individually housed gartersnakes, Thamnophis sirtalis, raised from birth on either earthworm or fish diets and tested 12 male and 12 female snakes with cage liners that were either clean, their own, or from same-sex siblings fed their own or the opposite diet. Tongue flicking and activity were recorded in 30-minute video-recorded trials in a balanced design. After initial habituation to the stimuli, male, but not female, snakes discriminated between their own stimuli and those from littermates fed the same diet. Combined with other data and studies, the possibility that a chemical ‘mirror’ form of self-recognition exists in squamate reptiles is supported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon M. Burghardt
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Adam M. Partin
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Harry E. Pepper
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Jordan M. Steele
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Samuel M. Liske
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Allyson E. Stokes
- Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Ariel N. Lathan
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Cary M. Springer
- Office of Information Technology, Research Computing Support, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
| | - Matthew S. Jenkins
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37920, USA
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Putting the cart before the horse: claims for mirror self-recognition in horses are unfounded. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:1-4. [PMID: 34313872 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01538-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The recent article by Baragli, Scopa, Maglieri, and Palagi (Anim Cogn https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01502-7 , 2021) that claims to demonstrate mirror self-recognition (MSR) in horses is not based on compelling evidence. We identify problems with their experimental procedures, data, and assertion about "demonstrating MSR at group level." Examples of these problems include incomplete experimental design, absence of important control conditions, inappropriate terminology, suboptimal mark application procedures and coding of videos, ambiguity of videos presented as supporting evidence, and inconsistencies in data presentation and interpretation. It is not the case that their study "marks a turning point in the analytical technique of MSR exploration."
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