1
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Garcia-Pelegrin E, Schnell AK, Wilkins C, Clayton NS. Beyond the Tricks: The Science and Comparative Cognition of Magic. Annu Rev Psychol 2024; 75:269-293. [PMID: 38236652 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-012723-100945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Magic is an art form that has fascinated humans for centuries. Recently, the techniques used by magicians to make their audience experience the impossible have attracted the attention of psychologists, who, in just a couple of decades, have produced a large amount of research regarding how these effects operate, focusing on the blind spots in perception and roadblocks in cognition that magic techniques exploit. Most recently, this investigation has given a pathway to a new line of research that uses magic effects to explore the cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals. This new branch of the scientific study of magic has already yielded new evidence illustrating the power of magic effects as a psychological tool for nonhuman animals. This review aims to give a thorough overview of the research on both the human and nonhuman perception of magic effects by critically illustrating the most prominent works of both fields of inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandra K Schnell
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Clive Wilkins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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2
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Dissegna A, Borrelli L, Ponte G, Chiandetti C, Fiorito G. Octopus vulgaris Exhibits Interindividual Differences in Behavioural and Problem-Solving Performance. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1487. [PMID: 38132313 PMCID: PMC10740590 DOI: 10.3390/biology12121487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
By presenting individual Octopus vulgaris with an extractive foraging problem with a puzzle box, we examined the possible correlation between behavioural performances (e.g., ease of adaptation to captive conditions, prevalence of neophobic and neophilic behaviours, and propensity to learn individually or by observing conspecifics), biotic (body and brain size, age, sex) and abiotic (seasonality and place of origin) factors. We found more neophilic animals showing shorter latencies to approach the puzzle box and higher probability of solving the task; also, shorter times to solve the task were correlated with better performance on the individual learning task. However, the most neophilic octopuses that approached the puzzle box more quickly did not reach the solution earlier than other individuals, suggesting that strong neophilic tendency may lead to suboptimal performance at some stages of the problem-solving process. In addition, seasonal and environmental characteristics of location of origin appear to influence the rate of expression of individual traits central to problem solving. Overall, our analysis provides new insights into the traits associated with problem solving in invertebrates and highlights the presence of adaptive mechanisms that promote population-level changes in octopuses' behavioural traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Dissegna
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (A.D.); (C.C.)
| | - Luciana Borrelli
- Animal Physiology and Evolution Lab, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Giovanna Ponte
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Cinzia Chiandetti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy; (A.D.); (C.C.)
| | - Graziano Fiorito
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy;
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3
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Voss G, Rosenthal JJC. High-level RNA editing diversifies the coleoid cephalopod brain proteome. Brief Funct Genomics 2023; 22:525-532. [PMID: 37981860 DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elad034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Coleoid cephalopods (octopus, squid and cuttlefish) have unusually complex nervous systems. The coleoid nervous system is also the only one currently known to recode the majority of expressed proteins through A-to-I RNA editing. The deamination of adenosine by adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes produces inosine, which is interpreted as guanosine during translation. If this occurs in an open reading frame, which is the case for tens of thousands of editing sites in coleoids, it can recode the encoded protein. Here, we describe recent findings aimed at deciphering the mechanisms underlying high-level recoding and its adaptive potential. We describe the complement of ADAR enzymes in cephalopods, including a recently discovered novel domain in sqADAR1. We further summarize current evidence supporting an adaptive role of high-level RNA recoding in coleoids, and review recent studies showing that a large proportion of recoding sites is temperature-sensitive. Despite these new findings, the mechanisms governing the high level of RNA recoding in coleoid cephalopods remain poorly understood. Recent advances using genome editing in squid may provide useful tools to further study A-to-I RNA editing in these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gjendine Voss
- The Eugene Bell Center, The Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole MA 02543, United States
| | - Joshua J C Rosenthal
- The Eugene Bell Center, The Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole MA 02543, United States
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4
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Freitas TBN, Leite TS, de Ramos B, Proietti MC. Understanding the interactions between cephalopods and marine litter: A research evaluation with identification of gaps and future perspectives. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 190:114814. [PMID: 36933358 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Litter is known to negatively affect numerous marine organisms, but the extent of such impacts is not well known for several groups, including cephalopods. Considering the ecological, behavioral and economic importance of these animals, we reviewed the types of interactions between cephalopods and litter in the scientific literature, to evaluate impacts and knowledge gaps. We found 30 papers, which included records of microplastic ingestion and the transfer of synthetic microfibers along the food web. The largest number of records involved litter use as shelter, and the common octopus was the most frequent species. At first sight, litter use as shelter could appear to be a potential positive effect, but it is necessary to clarify the implications of this choice and its long-term consequences. Regarding ingestion and trophic transfer, further research is needed to elucidate its occurrence and impacts on cephalopods and their predators, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainah B N Freitas
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Oceanografia Biológica and Projeto Lixo Marinho, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
| | - Tatiana S Leite
- Laboratório de Métodos de Estudos Subaquáticos e Cefalópodes, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - UFSC, Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Bruna de Ramos
- Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Maíra C Proietti
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Oceanografia Biológica and Projeto Lixo Marinho, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil; The Ocean Cleanup, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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5
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Kimbara R, Kohtsuka H, Miura T. Differences of Sucker Formation Processes Depending on Benthic or Pelagic Posthatching Lifestyles in Two Octopus Species. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2023; 244:82-93. [PMID: 37725699 DOI: 10.1086/726772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
AbstractMorphologies of animal appendages are highly diversified depending on animal lifestyles. In cephalopods (Mollusca, Cephalopoda), an individual possesses multiple arms that contribute to elaborate behaviors, and suckers on them enable various arm functions. In octopus hatchlings, arm and sucker morphologies can be divided into two different types due to alternative posthatching lifestyles, that is, pelagic or benthic lifestyles, although the underlying developmental differences have yet to be elucidated. In this study, therefore, detailed developmental processes of arms and suckers were observed during embryogenesis in two different octopus species, Octopus parvus and Amphioctopus fangsiao, showing pelagic and benthic posthatching lifestyles, respectively. In O. parvus, sucker formation stopped at a relatively early stage in which three suckers on an arm were produced. In addition, at late embryonic stages, cell proliferation was hardly detected in whole arms, while in A. fangsiao, sucker production continued throughout embryogenesis and cell proliferation also remained active in whole arms even in the late stages. Therefore, although further investigations in other octopus species are required, it is suggested that in octopus evolution, the developmental program of suckers has been modified in accordance with the acquisition of a novel lifestyle.
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6
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Styfhals R, Zolotarov G, Hulselmans G, Spanier KI, Poovathingal S, Elagoz AM, De Winter S, Deryckere A, Rajewsky N, Ponte G, Fiorito G, Aerts S, Seuntjens E. Cell type diversity in a developing octopus brain. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7392. [PMID: 36450803 PMCID: PMC9712504 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35198-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Octopuses are mollusks that have evolved intricate neural systems comparable with vertebrates in terms of cell number, complexity and size. The brain cell types that control their sophisticated behavioral repertoire are still unknown. Here, we profile the cell diversity of the paralarval Octopus vulgaris brain to build a cell type atlas that comprises mostly neural cells, but also multiple glial subtypes, endothelial cells and fibroblasts. We spatially map cell types to the vertical, subesophageal and optic lobes. Investigation of cell type conservation reveals a shared gene signature between glial cells of mouse, fly and octopus. Genes related to learning and memory are enriched in vertical lobe cells, which show molecular similarities with Kenyon cells in Drosophila. We construct a cell type taxonomy revealing transcriptionally related cell types, which tend to appear in the same brain region. Together, our data sheds light on cell type diversity and evolution in the octopus brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Styfhals
- Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Grygoriy Zolotarov
- Laboratory for Systems Biology of Gene Regulatory Elements, Berlin Institute for Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Hannoversche Str. 28, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gert Hulselmans
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Katina I Spanier
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | | | - Ali M Elagoz
- Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Seppe De Winter
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Astrid Deryckere
- Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, US
| | - Nikolaus Rajewsky
- Laboratory for Systems Biology of Gene Regulatory Elements, Berlin Institute for Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Hannoversche Str. 28, 10115, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Giovanna Ponte
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Graziano Fiorito
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Stein Aerts
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Eve Seuntjens
- Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
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7
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The Case for Octopus Consciousness: Valence. NEUROSCI 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/neurosci3040047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Octopuses may demonstrate perceptual richness, neural unity, temporality, and finally, valence or affective evaluation, as the neural basis for consciousness. Octopuses attach a positive valence to food as ‘specializing generalists’ with long-term learning and flexible choices. They value shelter, yet modify, adapt and even transport it where necessary. They attach a negative valence to what may be described as pain, monitoring and protecting the damaged area and learning to associate locations with pain relief. Finally and surprisingly, octopuses attach a negative value to uncertainty so that they explore their environment before exploiting certain aspects of it and even exhibit motor play. This series of four papers, culminating in the present one, demonstrates in detail why the Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness has suggested octopuses might have the substrate for consciousness, although it is likely not similar to or as complex as that shown by ‘higher’ vertebrate lineages.
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8
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In the line of fire: Debris throwing by wild octopuses. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276482. [DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Wild Octopus tetricus frequently propel shells, silt, and algae through the water by releasing these materials from their arms while creating a forceful jet from the siphon held under the arm web. These "throws" occur in several contexts at a site in Jervis Bay, Australia, including in interactions with other octopuses. Material thrown in interactive contexts frequently hits other octopuses. Some throws appear to be targeted on other individuals, as suggested by several kinds of evidence: Throws in interactive contexts were more vigorous than others, and more often used silt, rather than shells or algae. High vigor throws were more often accompanied by uniform or dark body patterns than other throws. Some throws were directed differently from beneath the arms and such throws were more likely to hit other octopuses. Throwing at other individuals in the same population, as apparently seen in these octopuses, is a rare form of nonhuman projectile use, previously seen only in some social mammals.
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9
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Abstract
Temporality is one of the criteria that Birch has advanced for areas of cognitive ability that may underlie animal sentience. An ability to integrate and use information across time must be more than simply learning pieces of information and retrieving them. This paper looks at such wider use of information by octopuses across time. It evaluates accumulation of information about one’s place in space, as used across immediate egocentric localization by cuttlefish and medium distance navigation in octopuses. Information about useful items in the environment can be incorporated for future use by octopuses, including for shelter in antipredator situations. Finding prey is not random but can be predicted by environmental cues, especially by cuttlefish about future contingencies. Finally, the paper examines unlimited associative learning and constraints on learning, and the ability of cephalopods to explore and seek out information, even by play, for future use.
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10
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Ponte G, Chiandetti C, Edelman DB, Imperadore P, Pieroni EM, Fiorito G. Cephalopod Behavior: From Neural Plasticity to Consciousness. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 15:787139. [PMID: 35495582 PMCID: PMC9039538 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.787139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is only in recent decades that subjective experience - or consciousness - has become a legitimate object of scientific inquiry. As such, it represents perhaps the greatest challenge facing neuroscience today. Subsumed within this challenge is the study of subjective experience in non-human animals: a particularly difficult endeavor that becomes even more so, as one crosses the great evolutionary divide between vertebrate and invertebrate phyla. Here, we explore the possibility of consciousness in one group of invertebrates: cephalopod molluscs. We believe such a review is timely, particularly considering cephalopods' impressive learning and memory abilities, rich behavioral repertoire, and the relative complexity of their nervous systems and sensory capabilities. Indeed, in some cephalopods, these abilities are so sophisticated that they are comparable to those of some higher vertebrates. Following the criteria and framework outlined for the identification of hallmarks of consciousness in non-mammalian species, here we propose that cephalopods - particularly the octopus - provide a unique test case among invertebrates for examining the properties and conditions that, at the very least, afford a basal faculty of consciousness. These include, among others: (i) discriminatory and anticipatory behaviors indicating a strong link between perception and memory recall; (ii) the presence of neural substrates representing functional analogs of thalamus and cortex; (iii) the neurophysiological dynamics resembling the functional signatures of conscious states in mammals. We highlight the current lack of evidence as well as potentially informative areas that warrant further investigation to support the view expressed here. Finally, we identify future research directions for the study of consciousness in these tantalizing animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanna Ponte
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | | | - David B. Edelman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
- Association for Cephalopod Research ‘CephRes' a non-profit Organization, Naples, Italy
| | - Pamela Imperadore
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Graziano Fiorito
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
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11
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Lewis PR, Marsh S. What is it like to trust a rock? A functionalist perspective on trust and trustworthiness in artificial intelligence. COGN SYST RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Freitas TBN, Leite TS, de Ramos B, di Cosmo A, Proietti MC. In an octopus's garden in the shade: Underwater image analysis of litter use by benthic octopuses. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2022; 175:113339. [PMID: 35093780 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Benthic octopuses have been widely documented in artificial shelters for decades, and this use is apparently increasing. Despite any possible positive effects, the use of litter as shelter could have negative implications. In this work, we aimed to elucidate the interactions of octopuses with marine litter, identifying types of interactions and affected species and regions. To achieve this, we obtained 261 underwater images from 'citizen science' records, and identified 8 genera and 24 species of benthic octopuses interacting with litter. Glass objects were present in 41.6% of interactions, and plastic in 24.7%. Asia presented the highest number of images, and most records were from 2018 to 2021. Citizen science provided important evidence on octopus/marine litter interactions, highlighting its value and the need for more investigations on the subject. This information is fundamental to help prevent and mitigate the impacts of litter on octopuses, and identify knowledge gaps that require attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainah B N Freitas
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Oceanografia Biológica and Projeto Lixo Marinho, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Avenida Itália Km 08, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
| | - Tatiana S Leite
- Laboratório de Métodos de Estudos Subaquáticos e Cefalópodes, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
| | - Bruna de Ramos
- Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Anna di Cosmo
- Department of Biology, University of Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario Monte Sant' Angelo, Via Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, Italy.
| | - Maíra C Proietti
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Oceanografia Biológica and Projeto Lixo Marinho, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Avenida Itália Km 08, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
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13
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Mangalam M, Fragaszy DM, Wagman JB, Day BM, Kelty-Stephen DG, Bongers RM, Stout DW, Osiurak F. On the psychological origins of tool use. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104521. [PMID: 34998834 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The ubiquity of tool use in human life has generated multiple lines of scientific and philosophical investigation to understand the development and expression of humans' engagement with tools and its relation to other dimensions of human experience. However, existing literature on tool use faces several epistemological challenges in which the same set of questions generate many different answers. At least four critical questions can be identified, which are intimately intertwined-(1) What constitutes tool use? (2) What psychological processes underlie tool use in humans and nonhuman animals? (3) Which of these psychological processes are exclusive to tool use? (4) Which psychological processes involved in tool use are exclusive to Homo sapiens? To help advance a multidisciplinary scientific understanding of tool use, six author groups representing different academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology, psychology, neuroscience) and different theoretical perspectives respond to each of these questions, and then point to the direction of future work on tool use. We find that while there are marked differences among the responses of the respective author groups to each question, there is a surprising degree of agreement about many essential concepts and questions. We believe that this interdisciplinary and intertheoretical discussion will foster a more comprehensive understanding of tool use than any one of these perspectives (or any one of these author groups) would (or could) on their own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhur Mangalam
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
| | | | - Jeffrey B Wagman
- Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - Brian M Day
- Department of Psychology, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
| | | | - Raoul M Bongers
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Dietrich W Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon 69361, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris 75231, France
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14
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Van De Poll MN, van Swinderen B. Balancing Prediction and Surprise: A Role for Active Sleep at the Dawn of Consciousness? Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:768762. [PMID: 34803618 PMCID: PMC8602873 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.768762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain is a prediction machine. Yet the world is never entirely predictable, for any animal. Unexpected events are surprising, and this typically evokes prediction error signatures in mammalian brains. In humans such mismatched expectations are often associated with an emotional response as well, and emotional dysregulation can lead to cognitive disorders such as depression or schizophrenia. Emotional responses are understood to be important for memory consolidation, suggesting that positive or negative 'valence' cues more generally constitute an ancient mechanism designed to potently refine and generalize internal models of the world and thereby minimize prediction errors. On the other hand, abolishing error detection and surprise entirely (as could happen by generalization or habituation) is probably maladaptive, as this might undermine the very mechanism that brains use to become better prediction machines. This paradoxical view of brain function as an ongoing balance between prediction and surprise suggests a compelling approach to study and understand the evolution of consciousness in animals. In particular, this view may provide insight into the function and evolution of 'active' sleep. Here, we propose that active sleep - when animals are behaviorally asleep but their brain seems awake - is widespread beyond mammals and birds, and may have evolved as a mechanism for optimizing predictive processing in motile creatures confronted with constantly changing environments. To explore our hypothesis, we progress from humans to invertebrates, investigating how a potential role for rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in emotional regulation in humans could be re-examined as a conserved sleep function that co-evolved alongside selective attention to maintain an adaptive balance between prediction and surprise. This view of active sleep has some interesting implications for the evolution of subjective awareness and consciousness in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruno van Swinderen
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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15
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Cui J, Trinkle J. Toward next-generation learned robot manipulation. Sci Robot 2021; 6:6/54/eabd9461. [PMID: 34043539 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abd9461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The ever-changing nature of human environments presents great challenges to robot manipulation. Objects that robots must manipulate vary in shape, weight, and configuration. Important properties of the robot, such as surface friction and motor torque constants, also vary over time. Before robot manipulators can work gracefully in homes and businesses, they must be adaptive to such variations. This survey summarizes types of variations that robots may encounter in human environments and categorizes, compares, and contrasts the ways in which learning has been applied to manipulation problems through the lens of adaptability. Promising avenues for future research are proposed at the end.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinda Cui
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
| | - Jeff Trinkle
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
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16
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Schnell AK, Clayton NS. Cephalopods: Ambassadors for rethinking cognition. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 564:27-36. [PMID: 33390247 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.12.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Traditional approaches in comparative cognition have a long history of focusing on a narrow range of vertebrate species. However, in recent years the range of model species has expanded. Despite this development, invertebrate taxa are still largely neglected in comparative cognition, which limits our ability to locate the origins of cognitive traits. The time has come to rethink cognition and develop a more comprehensive understanding of cognitive evolution by expanding comparative analyses to include a diverse range of invertebrate taxa. In this review, we contend that cephalopods are suitable ambassadors for rethinking cognition. Cephalopods have large complex brains, exhibit sophisticated behavioral traits, and increasing evidence suggests that they possess complex cognitive abilities once thought to be unique to large-brained vertebrates. Comparing cephalopods with vertebrates, whose cognition has evolved independently, provides prominent opportunities to circumvent current limitations in comparative cognition that have arisen from traditional vertebrate comparisons. Increased efforts in investigating the cognitive abilities of cephalopods have also led to important welfare-related improvements. These large-brained molluscs are paving the way for a more inclusive approach to investigating cognitive evolution that we hope will extend to other invertebrate taxa.
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Carruthers G, Carls‐diamante S, Huang L, Rosen M, Schier E. How to operationalise consciousness. AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ajpy.12264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Linus Huang
- Department of Philosophy, University of California at San Diego, CA & Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei,
| | - Melanie Rosen
- Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Australia,
| | - Elizabeth Schier
- Department of Psychology, Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie, Australia and Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia,
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Krieger J, Hörnig MK, Laidre ME. Shells as 'extended architecture': to escape isolation, social hermit crabs choose shells with the right external architecture. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:1177-1187. [PMID: 32770436 PMCID: PMC7700067 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01419-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Animals' cognitive abilities can be tested by allowing them to choose between alternatives, with only one alternative offering the correct solution to a novel problem. Hermit crabs are evolutionarily specialized to navigate while carrying a shell, with alternative shells representing different forms of 'extended architecture', which effectively change the extent of physical space an individual occupies in the world. It is unknown whether individuals can choose such architecture to solve novel navigational problems. Here, we designed an experiment in which social hermit crabs (Coenobita compressus) had to choose between two alternative shells to solve a novel problem: escaping solitary confinement. Using X-ray microtomography and 3D-printing, we copied preferred shell types and then made artificial alterations to their inner or outer shell architecture, designing only some shells to have the correct architectural fit for escaping the opening of an isolated crab's enclosure. In our 'escape artist' experimental design, crabs had to choose an otherwise less preferred shell, since only this shell had the right external architecture to allow the crab to free itself from isolation. Across multiple experiments, crabs were willing to forgo preferred shells and choose less preferred shells that enabled them to escape, suggesting these animals can solve novel navigational problems with extended architecture. Yet, it remains unclear if individuals solved this problem through trial-and-error or were aware of the deeper connection between escape and exterior shell architecture. Our experiments offer a foundation for further explorations of physical, social, and spatial cognition within the context of extended architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Krieger
- Department of Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 23, 17489, Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Marie K Hörnig
- Department of Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 23, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Mark E Laidre
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
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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.
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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
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Schnell AK, Amodio P, Boeckle M, Clayton NS. How intelligent is a cephalopod? Lessons from comparative cognition. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:162-178. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Piero Amodio
- Department of Psychology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Naples Italy
| | - Markus Boeckle
- Department of Psychology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Department of Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Science Krems an der Donau Austria
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Abstract
Cephalopods have captivated the minds of scientists for thousands of years, dating back to approximately 330 BC when Aristotle became fascinated by their ability to rapidly change colour. This remarkable ability, however, is not the only aspect of cephalopod behaviour that has garnered attention from the scientific community. The soft-bodied cephalopods (henceforth cephalopods), namely octopus, cuttlefish, and squid, are widely considered to be the most cognitively advanced group of invertebrates. They possess highly developed perceptual, memory, and spatial learning abilities and are also capable of intriguing feats of behaviour that appear to indicate complex cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra K Schnell
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3DT, UK.
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3DT, UK
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Barros F, Santos D, Reis A, Martins A, Dodonov P, Nunes JACC. Choosing trash instead of nature: Sea urchin covering behavior. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2020; 155:111188. [PMID: 32469787 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Notwithstanding impacts of marine debris on fauna by ingestion and suffocation, little is known about debris-related behavior. Lytechinus variegatus is a common sea urchin known for its covering behavior. We hypothesized that L. variegatus would select more marine debris (i.e. litter) than natural material as cover and we also expected that the selected natural and artificial material would be different in weight, sizes and transparency. We haphazardly collected marine debris and natural material on 20 individuals of L. variegatus and on the bottom, around each individual. All sampled material was weighed, measured and classified regarding opacity, nature (natural or artificial). Our results showed that i) sea urchins picked more litter than natural objects, ii) proportional weight of litter carried by urchins was significantly larger than expected by chance, iii) when considering all objects (on urchins and on the bottom) litter was heavier, wider and less opaque than natural material and iv) litter carried by the urchins were wider and less opaque than natural material. We suggest that litter can influence urchin's protection against sunlight, camouflage and ballast and that sea urchins with covering behavior might be used as indicators of marine debris in coastal and deep waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Barros
- Laboratório de Ecologia Bentônica, Instituto de Biologia & CIENAM, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo s/n., Campus Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, BA, Brazil.
| | - Daniel Santos
- Laboratório de Ecologia Bentônica, Instituto de Biologia & CIENAM, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo s/n., Campus Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Alice Reis
- Laboratório de Ecologia Bentônica, Instituto de Biologia & CIENAM, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo s/n., Campus Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Amanda Martins
- Laboratório de Ecologia Bentônica, Instituto de Biologia & CIENAM, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo s/n., Campus Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Pavel Dodonov
- Laboratório de Ecologia Espacial, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo s/n., Campus Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - José Anchieta C C Nunes
- Laboratório de Ecologia Bentônica, Instituto de Biologia & CIENAM, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo s/n., Campus Ondina, CEP 40170-115 Salvador, BA, Brazil; Grupo de Ecologia de Recifes, CEP 40155-010 Salvador, BA, Brazil
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Sensorial Hierarchy in Octopus vulgaris's Food Choice: Chemical vs. Visual. Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:ani10030457. [PMID: 32164232 PMCID: PMC7143185 DOI: 10.3390/ani10030457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Coleoids are cephalopods endowed with a highly sophisticated nervous system with keen sense organs and an exceptionally large brain that includes more than 30 differentiated lobes. Within this group, Octopus vulgaris, well known as an intelligent soft-bodied animal, has a significant number of lobes in the nervous system dedicated to decoding and integrating visual, tactile, and chemosensory perceptions. In this study, we aimed to understand the key role of chemical and visual cues during food selection in O. vulgaris. We first defined the preferred food, and subsequently, we set up five different problem-solving tasks, in which the animal’s choice is guided by visual and chemosensory signals, either alone or together, to evaluate whether individual O. vulgaris uses a sensorial hierarchy. Our behavioural experiments show that this species does integrate different sensory information from chemical and visual cues during food selection; however, our results indicate that chemical perception provides accurate and faster information leading to food choice. This research opens new perspectives on O. vulgaris’ predation strategies. Abstract Octopus vulgaris possesses highly sophisticated sense organs, processed by the nervous system to generate appropriate behaviours such as finding food, avoiding predators, identifying conspecifics, and locating suitable habitat. Octopus uses multiple sensory modalities during the searching and selection of food, in particular, the chemosensory and visual cues. Here, we examined food choice in O. vulgaris in two ways: (1) We tested octopus’s food preference among three different kinds of food, and established anchovy as the preferred choice (66.67%, Friedman test p < 0.05); (2) We exposed octopus to a set of five behavioural experiments in order to establish the sensorial hierarchy in food choice, and to evaluate the performance based on the visual and chemical cues, alone or together. Our data show that O. vulgaris integrates sensory information from chemical and visual cues during food choice. Nevertheless, food choice resulted in being more dependent on chemical cues than visual ones (88.9%, Friedman test p < 0.05), with a consistent decrease of the time spent identifying the preferred food. These results define the role played by the senses with a sensorial hierarchy in food choice, opening new perspectives on the O. vulgaris’ predation strategies in the wild, which until today were considered to rely mainly on visual cues.
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Kawashima S, Takei K, Yoshikawa S, Yasumuro H, Ikeda Y. Tropical Octopus Abdopus aculeatus Can Learn to Recognize Real and Virtual Symbolic Objects. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2020; 238:12-24. [PMID: 32163727 DOI: 10.1086/707420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We used three consecutive operant conditioning tasks to determine whether the tropical octopus Abdopus aculeatus is able to learn to recognize a symbolic object, in either real or virtual forms. In Experiment 1, we examined whether octopuses can be conditioned to a real object (a white ball) and whether such trained individuals can select the conditioned object when they are presented with an unconditioned object. We show that octopuses learned to respond to and select the conditioned white ball in preference to the unconditioned object. In Experiment 2, we examined whether octopuses can be conditioned to an object that gradually changes from real to virtual (i.e., an image of that object on a computer screen). We presented four types of objects, all variations of a white ball, in a stepwise sequence as a conditioned stimulus: a real white ball, a real image of a white ball without a margin, a real image of a white ball centered within a black margin, and a virtual image of a white ball (a video on a computer screen). Individual octopuses learned to respond to all three real objects, and then a subset of these octopuses responded to the virtual object. In Experiment 3, we examined whether an octopus can learn a virtual image of an object with a specific shape not tested in Experiments 1 and 2. We presented octopuses with an image of a white cross, which was placed at various distances (i.e., close, medium, and far). We found that after having learned these images, octopuses could learn the virtual white cross on a computer screen. Furthermore, when we simultaneously presented octopuses with a conditioned virtual object and an unconditioned virtual object, they selected the former. Through these three experiments, we confirmed that A. aculeatus can learn both real and virtual specific objects.
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25
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Johnson AA, Shokhirev MN, Shoshitaishvili B. Revamping the evolutionary theories of aging. Ageing Res Rev 2019; 55:100947. [PMID: 31449890 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2019.100947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Radical lifespan disparities exist in the animal kingdom. While the ocean quahog can survive for half a millennium, the mayfly survives for less than 48 h. The evolutionary theories of aging seek to explain why such stark longevity differences exist and why a deleterious process like aging evolved. The classical mutation accumulation, antagonistic pleiotropy, and disposable soma theories predict that increased extrinsic mortality should select for the evolution of shorter lifespans and vice versa. Most experimental and comparative field studies conform to this prediction. Indeed, animals with extreme longevity (e.g., Greenland shark, bowhead whale, giant tortoise, vestimentiferan tubeworms) typically experience minimal predation. However, data from guppies, nematodes, and computational models show that increased extrinsic mortality can sometimes lead to longer evolved lifespans. The existence of theoretically immortal animals that experience extrinsic mortality - like planarian flatworms, panther worms, and hydra - further challenges classical assumptions. Octopuses pose another puzzle by exhibiting short lifespans and an uncanny intelligence, the latter of which is often associated with longevity and reduced extrinsic mortality. The evolutionary response to extrinsic mortality is likely dependent on multiple interacting factors in the organism, population, and ecology, including food availability, population density, reproductive cost, age-mortality interactions, and the mortality source.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maxim N Shokhirev
- Razavi Newman Integrative Genomics and Bioinformatics Core, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Boris Shoshitaishvili
- Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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26
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Bayne T, Brainard D, Byrne RW, Chittka L, Clayton N, Heyes C, Mather J, Ölveczky B, Shadlen M, Suddendorf T, Webb B. What is cognition? Curr Biol 2019; 29:R608-R615. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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27
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Carls-Diamante S. Out on a limb? On multiple cognitive systems within the octopus nervous system. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2019.1585797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sidney Carls-Diamante
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
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28
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29
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Nummela SU, Jutras MJ, Wixted JT, Buffalo EA, Miller CT. Recognition Memory in Marmoset and Macaque Monkeys: A Comparison of Active Vision. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 31:1318-1328. [PMID: 30513042 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The core functional organization of the primate brain is remarkably conserved across the order, but behavioral differences evident between species likely reflect derived modifications in the underlying neural processes. Here, we performed the first study to directly compare visual recognition memory in two primate species-rhesus macaques and marmoset monkeys-on the same visual preferential looking task as a first step toward identifying similarities and differences in this cognitive process across the primate phylogeny. Preferences in looking behavior on the task were broadly similar between the species, with greater looking times for novel images compared with repeated images as well as a similarly strong preference for faces compared with other categories. Unexpectedly, we found large behavioral differences among the two species in looking behavior independent of image familiarity. Marmosets exhibited longer looking times, with greater variability compared with macaques, regardless of image content or familiarity. Perhaps most strikingly, marmosets shifted their gaze across the images more quickly, suggesting a different behavioral strategy when viewing images. Although such differences limit the comparison of recognition memory across these closely related species, they point to interesting differences in the mechanisms underlying active vision that have significant implications for future neurobiological investigations with these two nonhuman primate species. Elucidating whether these patterns are reflective of species or broader phylogenetic differences (e.g., between New World and Old World monkeys) necessitates a broader sample of primate taxa from across the Order.
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Amodio P, Boeckle M, Schnell AK, Ostojíc L, Fiorito G, Clayton NS. Grow Smart and Die Young: Why Did Cephalopods Evolve Intelligence? Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 34:45-56. [PMID: 30446408 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Revised: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Intelligence in large-brained vertebrates might have evolved through independent, yet similar processes based on comparable socioecological pressures and slow life histories. This convergent evolutionary route, however, cannot explain why cephalopods developed large brains and flexible behavioural repertoires: cephalopods have fast life histories and live in simple social environments. Here, we suggest that the loss of the external shell in cephalopods (i) caused a dramatic increase in predatory pressure, which in turn prevented the emergence of slow life histories, and (ii) allowed the exploitation of novel challenging niches, thus favouring the emergence of intelligence. By highlighting convergent and divergent aspects between cephalopods and large-brained vertebrates we illustrate how the evolution of intelligence might not be constrained to a single evolutionary route.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piero Amodio
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Markus Boeckle
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Ljerka Ostojíc
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Graziano Fiorito
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Abstract
This article aims to explore the idea that enhancement technologies have been and will continue to be an essential element of what we might call the "human continuum," and are indeed key to our existence and evolution into persons. Whereas conservative commentators argue that enhancement is likely to cause us to lose our humanity and become something other, it is argued here that the very opposite is true: that enhancement is the core of what and who we are. Using evidence from paleoanthropology to examine the nature of our predecessor species, and their proclivities for tool use, we can see that there is good reason to assume that the development of Homo sapiens is a direct result of the use of enhancement technologies. A case is also made for broad understandings of the scope of enhancement, based on the significant evolutionary results of acts that are usually dismissed as "unremarkable." Furthermore, the use of enhancement by modern humans is no different than these prehistoric applications, and is likely to ultimately have similar results. There is no good reason to assume that whatever we may become will not also consider itself human.
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32
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Jung SH, Song HY, Hyun YS, Kim YC, Whang I, Choi TY, Jo S. A Brain Atlas of the Long Arm Octopus, Octopus minor. Exp Neurobiol 2018; 27:257-266. [PMID: 30181688 PMCID: PMC6120969 DOI: 10.5607/en.2018.27.4.257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2018] [Revised: 08/05/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Cephalopods have the most advanced nervous systems and intelligent behavior among all invertebrates. Their brains provide comparative insights for understanding the molecular and functional origins of the human brain. Although brain maps that contain information on the organization of each subregion are necessary for a study on the brain, no whole brain atlas for adult cephalopods has been constructed to date. Here, we obtained sagittal and coronal sections covering the entire brain of adult Octopus minor (Sasaki), which belongs to the genus with the most species in the class Cephalopoda and is commercially available in East Asia throughout the year. Sections were stained using Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) to visualize the cellular nuclei and subregions. H&E images of the serial sections were obtained at 30~70-µm intervals for the sagittal plain and at 40~80-µm intervals for the coronal plain. Setting the midline point of the posterior end as the fiducial point, we also established the distance coordinates of each image. We found that the brain had the typical brain structure of the Octopodiformes. A number of subregions were discriminated by a Hematoxylin-positive layer, the thickness and neuronal distribution pattern of which varied markedly depending upon the region. We identified more than 70 sub-regions based on delineations of representative H&E images. This is the first brain atlas, not only for an Octopodiformes species but also among adult cephalopods, and we anticipate that this atlas will provide a valuable resource for comparative neuroscience research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung-Hyun Jung
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
| | - Ha Yeun Song
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
| | - Young Se Hyun
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
| | - Yu-Cheol Kim
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
| | - Ilson Whang
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
| | - Tae-Young Choi
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
| | - Seonmi Jo
- Department of Genetic Resources Research, National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK), Seocheon 33662, Korea
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33
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Mhatre N, Robert D. The Drivers of Heuristic Optimization in Insect Object Manufacture and Use. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1015. [PMID: 29977216 PMCID: PMC6021527 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects have small brains and heuristics or 'rules of thumb' are proposed here to be a good model for how insects optimize the objects they make and use. Generally, heuristics are thought to increase the speed of decision making by reducing the computational resources needed for making decisions. By corollary, heuristic decisions are also deemed to impose a compromise in decision accuracy. Using examples from object optimization behavior in insects, we will argue that heuristics do not inevitably imply a lower computational burden or lower decision accuracy. We also show that heuristic optimization may be driven by certain features of the optimization problem itself: the properties of the object being optimized, the biology of the insect, and the properties of the function being optimized. We also delineate the structural conditions under which heuristic optimization may achieve accuracy equivalent to or better than more fine-grained and onerous optimization methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Mhatre
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, Canada
| | - Daniel Robert
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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34
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Taylor ER. If technological intelligent extraterrestrials exist, what biological traits are de rigueur. LIFE SCIENCES IN SPACE RESEARCH 2018; 17:15-22. [PMID: 29753409 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
If extraterrestrials exist in the depths of cosmic space, and are capable of interstellar communications, even space flight, there is no requirement that they be humanoid in form. However, certain humanoid capabilities would be advantageous for tool fashioning and critical to operating space craft as well as functioning under the disparate extreme conditions under which they may be forced to operate. They would have to be "gas breathing". The reasonable assumption that life based upon the same elements as Earth life requiring water stems from the unique properties of water that no other similar low molecular weight nonmetal hydride offers. Only water offers the diversity of chemical properties and reactivity, including the existence of the three common physical states within a limited temperature range of service to life, avoiding the issues presented by any alternatives. They must, like us, possess a large, abstract-thinking brain, and probably possess at least all the fundamental senses that humankind possess. They would also be carbon-based life, using oxygen as the electron sink of their biochemistry for the reasons considered. They most likely are homeothermic as us, though they may not necessarily be mammalian as we are. Their biochemistry could differ some from ours, perhaps presenting contact hazards for both species as discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R Taylor
- Department of Chemistry, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, POB 44370, Lafayette, LA 70504, United States.
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The interplay between psychological predispositions and skill learning in the evolution of tool use. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Koizumi M, Shigeno S, Mizunami M, Tanaka NK. Calcium imaging method to visualize the spatial patterns of neural responses in the pygmy squid, Idiosepius paradoxus, central nervous system. J Neurosci Methods 2018; 294:67-71. [PMID: 29146192 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Revised: 09/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cephalopods exhibit unique behaviors such as camouflage and tactile learning. The brain functions correlated to these behaviors have long been analyzed through behavioral observations of animals subject to surgical manipulation or electrical stimulation of brain lobes. However, physiological methods have rarely been introduced to investigate the functions of each individual lobe, though physiological work on giant axons and slices of the vertical lobe system of the cephalopods have provided deep insights into ion conductance of nerves and long-term synaptic plasticity. The lack of in vivo physiological work is partly due to difficulties in immobilizing the brain which is contained within the soft body and applying calcium indicators to the cephalopod central nervous system. NEW METHOD We here present a calcium imaging method to visualize neural responses in the central nervous system of the smallest squid, Idiosepius paradoxus. RESULTS We injected calcium indicator Cal-520 into the brachial lobes and revealed a spatiotemporal pattern of neural responses to the electrical stimulations of the axial nerve cord in the first arm. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS We established a method to immobilize the central nervous system which is contained within the soft body and record the calcium responses from the intact central nervous system. CONCLUSIONS Our method provides a novel approach to investigate the mechanisms of how the characteristic organization of the cephalopod brain functions to induce their unique behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Motoki Koizumi
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Shuichi Shigeno
- Department of Marine Biodiversity Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
| | | | - Nobuaki K Tanaka
- Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan; PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
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Scheel D, Godfrey-Smith P, Linquist S, Chancellor S, Hing M, Lawrence M. Octopus engineering, intentional and inadvertent. Commun Integr Biol 2018. [PMCID: PMC5824970 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2017.1395994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously published a description of discovery of a site where octopuses live in an unusually dense collection of individual dens near one another in a bed of scallop shells amid a rock outcrop. We believe the shell bed is an extended midden, accumulated over time by individual octopuses returning to their dens with food. Here we consider what aspects of material collection, den maintenance, and aggregation are intentional for the octopuses, versus inadvertent consequences of individual decisions. Collection of prey items, transport of prey to the den, den excavation, and collection and use of non-prey materials at the den appear to be intentional behaviors. The occurrence of many dens in close aggregation appears to be an inadvertent outcome of the availability of food and the risk of predation in the habitat. Popular media reports have described this site as an ‘city’ designed by octopuses, but that is not an accurate description of the site.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Scheel
- Marine & Environmental Sciences, Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - P. Godfrey-Smith
- Unit for History and Philosophy of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, and CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - S. Linquist
- Philosophy, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
| | - S. Chancellor
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - M. Hing
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems Solutions, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
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Mhatre N, Malkin R, Deb R, Balakrishnan R, Robert D. Tree crickets optimize the acoustics of baffles to exaggerate their mate-attraction signal. eLife 2017; 6:32763. [PMID: 29227246 PMCID: PMC5764570 DOI: 10.7554/elife.32763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Object manufacture in insects is typically inherited, and believed to be highly stereotyped. Optimization, the ability to select the functionally best material and modify it appropriately for a specific function, implies flexibility and is usually thought to be incompatible with inherited behaviour. Here, we show that tree-crickets optimize acoustic baffles, objects that are used to increase the effective loudness of mate-attraction calls. We quantified the acoustic efficiency of all baffles within the naturally feasible design space using finite-element modelling and found that design affects efficiency significantly. We tested the baffle-making behaviour of tree crickets in a series of experimental contexts. We found that given the opportunity, tree crickets optimised baffle acoustics; they selected the best sized object and modified it appropriately to make a near optimal baffle. Surprisingly, optimization could be achieved in a single attempt, and is likely to be achieved through an inherited yet highly accurate behavioural heuristic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Mhatre
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Malkin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Rittik Deb
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Rohini Balakrishnan
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Daniel Robert
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Villanueva R, Perricone V, Fiorito G. Cephalopods as Predators: A Short Journey among Behavioral Flexibilities, Adaptions, and Feeding Habits. Front Physiol 2017; 8:598. [PMID: 28861006 PMCID: PMC5563153 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity of cephalopod species and the differences in morphology and the habitats in which they live, illustrates the ability of this class of molluscs to adapt to all marine environments, demonstrating a wide spectrum of patterns to search, detect, select, capture, handle, and kill prey. Photo-, mechano-, and chemoreceptors provide tools for the acquisition of information about their potential preys. The use of vision to detect prey and high attack speed seem to be a predominant pattern in cephalopod species distributed in the photic zone, whereas in the deep-sea, the development of mechanoreceptor structures and the presence of long and filamentous arms are more abundant. Ambushing, luring, stalking and pursuit, speculative hunting and hunting in disguise, among others are known modes of hunting in cephalopods. Cannibalism and scavenger behavior is also known for some species and the development of current culture techniques offer evidence of their ability to feed on inert and artificial foods. Feeding requirements and prey choice change throughout development and in some species, strong ontogenetic changes in body form seem associated with changes in their diet and feeding strategies, although this is poorly understood in planktonic and larval stages. Feeding behavior is altered during senescence and particularly in brooding octopus females. Cephalopods are able to feed from a variety of food sources, from detritus to birds. Their particular requirements of lipids and copper may help to explain why marine crustaceans, rich in these components, are common prey in all cephalopod diets. The expected variation in climate change and ocean acidification and their effects on chemoreception and prey detection capacities in cephalopods are unknown and needs future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Villanueva
- Institut de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Graziano Fiorito
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton DohrnNapoli, Italy
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Waroff AJ, Fanucchi L, Robbins CT, Nelson OL. Tool use, problem-solving, and the display of stereotypic behaviors in the brown bear (Ursus arctos). J Vet Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2016.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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The Cosmic Zoo: The (Near) Inevitability of the Evolution of Complex, Macroscopic Life. Life (Basel) 2016; 6:life6030025. [PMID: 27376334 PMCID: PMC5041001 DOI: 10.3390/life6030025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2016] [Revised: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Life on Earth provides a unique biological record from single-cell microbes to technologically intelligent life forms. Our evolution is marked by several major steps or innovations along a path of increasing complexity from microbes to space-faring humans. Here we identify various major key innovations, and use an analytical toolset consisting of a set of models to analyse how likely each key innovation is to occur. Our conclusion is that once the origin of life is accomplished, most of the key innovations can occur rather readily. The conclusion for other worlds is that if the origin of life can occur rather easily, we should live in a cosmic zoo, as the innovations necessary to lead to complex life will occur with high probability given sufficient time and habitat. On the other hand, if the origin of life is rare, then we might live in a rather empty universe.
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Koizumi M, Shigeno S, Mizunami M, Tanaka NK. Three-dimensional brain atlas of pygmy squid, Idiosepius paradoxus, revealing the largest relative vertical lobe system volume among the cephalopods. J Comp Neurol 2016; 524:2142-57. [PMID: 26663197 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Revised: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Cephalopods have the largest and most complex nervous system of all invertebrates, and the brain-to-body weight ratio exceeds those of most fish and reptiles. The brain is composed of lobe units, the functions of which have been studied through surgical manipulation and electrical stimulation. However, how information is processed in each lobe for the animal to make a behavioral decision has rarely been investigated. To perform such functional analyses, it is necessary to precisely describe how brain lobes are spatially organized and mutually interconnected as a whole. We thus made three-dimensional digital brain atlases of both hatchling and juvenile pygmy squid, Idiosepius paradoxus. I. paradoxus is the smallest squid and has a brain small enough to scan as a whole region in the field-of-view of a low-magnification laser scan microscope objective. Precise analyses of the confocal images of the brains revealed one newly identified lobe and also that the relative volume of the vertical lobe system, the higher association center, in the pygmy squid represents the largest portion compared with the cephalopod species reported previously. In addition, principal component analyses of relative volumes of lobe complexes revealed that the organization of I. paradoxus brain is comparable to those of Decapodiformes species commonly used to analyze complex behaviors such as Sepia officinalis and Sepioteuthis sepioidea. These results suggest that the pygmy squid can be a good model to investigate the brain functions of coleoids utilizing physiological methods. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:2142-2157, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Motoki Koizumi
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Shuichi Shigeno
- Department of Marine Biodiversity Research, Japanese Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Makoto Mizunami
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Nobuaki K Tanaka
- Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 001-0021, Japan.,Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama, 332-0012, Japan
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The Evolution of Brains and Cognitive Abilities. Evol Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41324-2_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Zarrella I, Ponte G, Baldascino E, Fiorito G. Learning and memory in Octopus vulgaris: a case of biological plasticity. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2015; 35:74-9. [PMID: 26186237 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2015.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2015] [Revised: 06/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Here we concisely summarize major aspects of the learning capabilities of the cephalopod mollusc Octopus vulgaris, a solitary living marine invertebrate. We aim to provide a backdrop against which neurobiology of these animals can be further interpreted and thus soliciting further interest for one of the most advanced members of invertebrate animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Zarrella
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy
| | - Giovanna Ponte
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Napoli, Italy; Association for Cephalopod Research 'CephRes', Italy
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Ringler E, Pašukonis A, Fitch WT, Huber L, Hödl W, Ringler M. Flexible compensation of uniparental care: female poison frogs take over when males disappear. Behav Ecol 2015; 26:1219-1225. [PMID: 26167099 PMCID: PMC4495760 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Revised: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Caring mothers step in for deadbeat dads. Flexible compensation has evolved as a countermeasure against reduced or lost parental care and is commonly found in biparental species. In the poison frog Allobates femoralis with obligatory male-only care, we show that females flexibly perform tadpole transport when males disappear. This demonstrates that compensatory flexibility also evolved in species with unisexual care, suggesting that parental care systems are more flexible than previously thought. Parental care systems are shaped by costs and benefits to each sex of investing into current versus future progeny. Flexible compensatory parental care is mainly known in biparental species, particularly where parental desertion or reduction of care by 1 parent is common. The other parent can then compensate this loss by either switching parental roles and/or by increasing its own parental effort. In uniparental species, desertion of the caregiver usually leads to total brood loss. In the poison frog, Allobates femoralis, obligatory tadpole transport (TT) is generally performed by males, whereas females abandon their clutches after oviposition. Nevertheless, in a natural population we previously observed 7.8% of TT performed by females, which we could link to the absence of the respective fathers. In the following experiment, under laboratory conditions, all tested A. femoralis females flexibly took over parental duties, but only when their mates were removed. Our findings provide clear evidence for compensatory flexibility in a species with unisexual parental care. Contrary to the view of amphibian parental care as being stereotypical and fixed, these results demonstrate behavioral flexibility as an adaptive response to environmental and social uncertainty. Behavioral flexibility might actually represent a crucial step in the evolutionary transition from uniparental to biparental care in poison frogs. We suspect that across animal species flexible parental roles are much more common than previously thought and suggest the idea of a 3-dimensional continuum regarding flexibility, parental involvement, and timing, when thinking about the evolution of parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Ringler
- Department of Integrative Zoology , ; Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna , Austria , and ; Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna , 1210 Vienna , Austria
| | - Andrius Pašukonis
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna , Austria , and
| | - W Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna , Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna , Austria , and
| | - Ludwig Huber
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna , 1210 Vienna , Austria
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Patton BW, Braithwaite VA. Changing tides: ecological and historical perspectives on fish cognition. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2015; 6:159-176. [PMID: 26263070 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Revised: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 12/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The capacity for specialization and radiation make fish an excellent group in which to investigate the depth and variety of animal cognition. Even though early observations of fish using tools predates the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees, fish cognition has historically been somewhat overlooked. However, a recent surge of interest is now providing a wealth of material on which to draw examples, and this has required a selective approach to choosing the research described below. Our goal is to illustrate the necessity for basing cognitive investigations on the ecological and evolutionary context of the species at hand. We also seek to illustrate the importance of ecology and the environment in honing a range of sensory systems that allow fish to glean information and support informed decision-making. The various environments and challenges with which fish interact require equally varied cognitive skills, and the solutions that fish have developed are truly impressive. Similarly, we illustrate how common ecological problems will frequently produce common cognitive solutions. Below, we focus on four topics: spatial learning and memory, avoiding predators and catching prey, communication, and innovation. These are used to illustrate how both simple and sophisticated cognitive processes underpin much of the adaptive behavioral flexibility exhibited throughout fish phylogeny. Never before has the field had such a wide array of interdisciplinary techniques available to access both cognitive and mechanistic processes underpinning fish behavior. This capacity comes at a critical time to predict and manage fish populations in an era of unprecedented global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Wren Patton
- Center for Brain, Behavior & Cognition, Ecology Program, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA
| | - Victoria A Braithwaite
- Center for Brain, Behavior & Cognition, Departments of Biology and Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA
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Montana J, Finn JK, Norman MD. Liquid sand burrowing and mucus utilisation as novel adaptations to a structurally-simple environment in Octopus kaurna Stranks, 1990. BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Cephalopods are often celebrated as masters of camouflage, but their exploitation of the soft-sediment habitats that dominate the ocean floor has demanded other anti-predator strategies. Previous research has identified a small number of cephalopods capable of burying into sand and mud, but the need to directly access the water column for respiration has restricted them to superficial burying. Here, we report on the first known sub-surface burrowing in the cephalopods, byOctopus kaurna, a small benthic species that uses advanced sand-fluidisation and adhesive mucus for sediment manipulation. This burrowing strategy appears linked to easily fluidised sediments as shown in experimental trials in three size-grades of sediment. While the selective pressures that drove evolution of this behaviour are unknown, its identification enriches our understanding of the possible life-history traits and functional role of mucus in other benthic octopus species living in soft-sediment environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasper Montana
- Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Julian K. Finn
- Department of Sciences, Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Mark D. Norman
- Department of Sciences, Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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