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Jones NAR, Cortese D, Munson A, Spence‐Jones HC, Storm Z, Killen SS, Bethel R, Deacon AE, Webster MM, Závorka L. Maze design: size and number of choices impact fish performance in cognitive assays. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2023; 103:974-984. [PMID: 37386747 PMCID: PMC10952265 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Although studies on fish cognition are increasing, consideration of how methodological details influence the ability to detect and measure performance is lagging. Here, in two separate experiments the authors compared latency to leave the start position, latency to make a decision, levels of participation and success rates (whether fish entered the rewarded chamber as first choice) across different physical designs. Experiments compared fish performance across (a) two sizes of T-mazes, large and standard, and a plus-maze, and (b) open choice arenas with either two or four doors. Fish in T-mazes with longer arms took longer to leave the start chamber and were less likely to participate in a trial than fish in T-mazes with shorter arms. The number of options, or complexity, in a maze significantly impacted success but did not necessarily impact behavioural measures, and did not impact the number of fish that reached a chamber. Fish in the plus-maze had similar latencies to leave the start box and time to reach any chamber as fish in the same-sized T-maze but exhibited lower overall success. Similarly, in an open choice arena, increasing the number of options - doors to potential reward chambers - resulted in lower probability of success. There was an influence of reward position in the choice arena, with rewarded chambers closest to the sides of the arena resulting in lower latencies to enter and higher probability of decision success. Together the results allow the authors to offer practical suggestions towards optimal maze design for studies of fish cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick A. R. Jones
- Department of Animal PhysiologyUniversity of BayreuthBayreuthGermany
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsSt AndrewsUK
| | - Daphne Cortese
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Amelia Munson
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Helen C. Spence‐Jones
- Alfred‐Wegener‐Institut Helmholtz‐Zentrum für Polar‐ und Meeresforschung, Wadden Sea Station SyltListGermany
| | - Zoe Storm
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Shaun S. Killen
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Ruth Bethel
- Department of Life SciencesThe University of the West IndiesSt AugustineTrinidad and Tobago
| | - Amy E. Deacon
- Department of Life SciencesThe University of the West IndiesSt AugustineTrinidad and Tobago
| | - Mike M. Webster
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsSt AndrewsUK
| | - Libor Závorka
- WasserCluster Lunz – Biologische Station, Inter‐university Centre for Aquatic Ecosystem ResearchLunz am SeeAustria
- Danube University KremsKremsAustria
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2
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Casillas-Pérez B, Boďová K, Grasse AV, Tkačik G, Cremer S. Dynamic pathogen detection and social feedback shape collective hygiene in ants. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3232. [PMID: 37270641 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38947-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cooperative disease defense emerges as group-level collective behavior, yet how group members make the underlying individual decisions is poorly understood. Using garden ants and fungal pathogens as an experimental model, we derive the rules governing individual ant grooming choices and show how they produce colony-level hygiene. Time-resolved behavioral analysis, pathogen quantification, and probabilistic modeling reveal that ants increase grooming and preferentially target highly-infectious individuals when perceiving high pathogen load, but transiently suppress grooming after having been groomed by nestmates. Ants thus react to both, the infectivity of others and the social feedback they receive on their own contagiousness. While inferred solely from momentary ant decisions, these behavioral rules quantitatively predict hour-long experimental dynamics, and synergistically combine into efficient colony-wide pathogen removal. Our analyses show that noisy individual decisions based on only local, incomplete, yet dynamically-updated information on pathogen threat and social feedback can lead to potent collective disease defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Casillas-Pérez
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Katarína Boďová
- Department of Mathematical Analysis and Numerics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynska Dolina, SK-84248, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Anna V Grasse
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Gašper Tkačik
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, AT-3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
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3
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Lalot M, Bovet D. Prosociality and reciprocity according to parental status, communication, and personality in domestic canaries (Serinus canaria). Behav Processes 2023; 205:104818. [PMID: 36584962 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Prosociality (behaviours that benefit to a recipient without necessarily involving a cost to the actor) has recently been shown to exist in various taxa, including birds. Studies on prosociality in primates found that prosocial tendencies of the subject could be related to sex and parental care, communication from the recipient, cognitive abilities and personality. To investigate the existence of such associations on birds, we conducted a Prosocial Choice Task with domestic canaries (Serinus canaria). In our experiment, the subject could choose between three options: a prosocial, a selfish, and a null option (with no cost for the subject). We also conducted a food sharing experiment and measured several personality traits. Our results highlighted high levels of prosociality and a tendency to reciprocity among reproductive mates. We found a higher propensity to be prosocial in nulliparous individuals than in individuals that have previously been parents, but better sharing abilities in parents than in nulliparous individuals. When they were recipient, parents also used communication more efficiently than nulliparous subjects. Data suggest that parental expertise could enhance subjects' skills in eliciting prosociality. We also highlighted some interaction between prosociality, learning abilities, and some personality traits, proactive individuals being fast learners and more prosocial, while reactive individuals being slow learners and more reciprocal. Our results suggest that prosociality and reciprocity could be linked to personality and cognitive abilities, and that it might be interesting to consider them as parts of individual's cognitive style.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Lalot
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, UPL, Université Paris Nanterre, F92000 Nanterre, France.
| | - Dalila Bovet
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, UPL, Université Paris Nanterre, F92000 Nanterre, France
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4
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Greis LM, Ringler E, Whiting MJ, Szabo B. Lizards lack speed-accuracy trade-offs in a quantitative foraging task when unable to sample the reward. Behav Processes 2022; 202:104749. [PMID: 36064067 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
To make decisions, animals gather information from the environment in order to avoid costs (e.g., reduced survival) and increase benefits (e.g., foraging success). When time is limited or information is insufficient, most animals face a speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) - they have to balance the benefits of making quick decisions against the costs of inaccurate decisions. Here, we investigated the relationship between decision accuracy and decision speed in gidgee skinks (Egernia stokesii) performing a food-based spontaneous quantity discrimination task. Rather than a SAT we found a speed-accuracy alignment; lizards made decisions that were fast and accurate, rather than inaccurate. Furthermore, we found only within-, but no between-individual differences in decision making indicating behavioural plasticity in the absence of individual decision styles. Finally, latency to choice was highly repeatable, more so than choice accuracy. Previous work has shown that learning, the costs of a bad decision and task difficulty frequently result in SATs. The lack of a SAT in our lizards might be a direct consequence of our simple testing methodology which prevented learning by not allowing lizards to consume the chosen quantity. To fully understand how SATs develop, different methodologies that control the costs and benefits of decisions should be compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Greis
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Martin J Whiting
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Birgit Szabo
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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5
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Riley RJ, Gillie ER, Savage JL, Manica A, Boogert NJ. Familiarity, personality, and foraging performance in three-spined sticklebacks. Behav Processes 2022; 200:104699. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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6
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Performance Trade-Offs in Elite Swimmers. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-021-00179-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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7
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Senécal S, Mouchet A, Dingemanse NJ. Life-history trade-offs, density, lay date—not personality—explain multibroodedness in great tits. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
In various taxa, multibroodedness is a common breeding strategy. Life-history theory predicts that individuals can increase fitness by producing multiple broods within a season. Despite the apparent increase in the number of offspring parents might produce per season, not all individuals are multibrooded, suggesting a trade-off. We studied ecological and behavioral factors influencing the initiation of second clutches in great tits (Parus major), an optionally multibrooded bird species, by distinguishing two types of clutches: replacement versus true second clutches, produced after failure versus successful first breeding attempts, respectively. We predicted which lay date, density, and investment in first clutches would decrease the probability of initiating a second clutch, but which faster exploring behavioral types with a faster pace-of-life would be more likely to be multibrooded. The probability of initiating true second clutches varied negatively within-individuals with lay date and breeding density. The initiation of replacement clutches instead varied negatively among-individuals with lay date and density, suggesting nonrandom settlement of behavioral types across environments. Individuals were less likely to be multibrooded when producing many offspring from their first clutch, suggesting within-year reproductive trade-offs, similar to previous studies. No previous research has linked personality to multibroodedness; here we show which neither the repeatable nor the plastic part of an individual’s exploratory behavior predicted multibroodedness. We confirmed our prediction which the resolution of trade-offs may occur either at the within- or among-individual level. Our research contributes to the understanding of life-history evolution in the wild by studying the mechanisms shaping multibroodedness within seasons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Senécal
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski G5L 3A1, Canada
- Centre d’études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
- Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science, McGill University, Montréal H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Alexia Mouchet
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich 80539, Germany
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich 80539, Germany
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8
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Sex-specific cognitive flexibility in Atlantic mollies when learning from male demonstrators exploring a new food source. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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9
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Poirier MA, Kozlovsky DY, Morand-Ferron J, Careau V. How general is cognitive ability in non-human animals? A meta-analytical and multi-level reanalysis approach. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201853. [PMID: 33290683 PMCID: PMC7739923 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
General intelligence has been a topic of high interest for over a century. Traditionally, research on general intelligence was based on principal component analyses and other dimensionality reduction approaches. The advent of high-speed computing has provided alternative statistical tools that have been used to test predictions of human general intelligence. In comparison, research on general intelligence in non-human animals is in its infancy and still relies mostly on factor-analytical procedures. Here, we argue that dimensionality reduction, when incorrectly applied, can lead to spurious results and limit our understanding of ecological and evolutionary causes of variation in animal cognition. Using a meta-analytical approach, we show, based on 555 bivariate correlations, that the average correlation among cognitive abilities is low (r = 0.185; 95% CI: 0.087-0.287), suggesting relatively weak support for general intelligence in animals. We then use a case study with relatedness (genetic) data to demonstrate how analysing traits using mixed models, without dimensionality reduction, provides new insights into the structure of phenotypic variance among cognitive traits, and uncovers genetic associations that would be hidden otherwise. We hope this article will stimulate the use of alternative tools in the study of cognition and its evolution in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dovid Y. Kozlovsky
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Vincent Careau
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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10
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Fisher DN, Pruitt JN, Yeager J. Orb-weaving spiders show a correlated syndrome of morphology and web structure in the wild. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Extended phenotypes are traits that exist outside the physical body of organisms. Despite their role in the lives of the organisms that express them and other organisms influenced by extended phenotypes, the consistency and covariance with morphological and behavioural traits of extended phenotypes has rarely been evaluated. We repeatedly measured an extended phenotype involved in prey acquisition (web structure) of wild orb-weaving spiders (Micrathena vigorsii), which re-build their webs daily. We related web structure to behaviours and spider body length. Web diameter and web density were repeatable among individuals, reaction to a predation threat was very marginally so, and response to a prey stimulus and web evenness were not repeatable. Larger spiders spun wider webs, had webs with increased thread spacing, and the spider possibly tended to react more slowly to a predation threat. When a spider built a relatively larger web it was also a relatively less dense and less even web. The repeatability of web construction and relationship with spider body size we found may be common features of intra-population variation in web structure in spiders. By estimating the consistency and covariances of extended phenotypes we can begin to evaluate what maintains their variation and how they might evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N Fisher
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, King’s College, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Jonathan N Pruitt
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, University of California - Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Justin Yeager
- Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Dirección General de Investigación, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
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11
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Burns MP, Cavallaro FD, Saltz JB. Does Divergence in Habitat Breadth Associate with Species Differences in Decision Making in Drosophila Sechellia and Drosophila Simulans? Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11050528. [PMID: 32397481 PMCID: PMC7288451 DOI: 10.3390/genes11050528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision making is involved in many behaviors contributing to fitness, such as habitat choice, mate selection, and foraging. Because of this, high decision-making accuracy (i.e., selecting the option most beneficial for fitness) should be under strong selection. However, decision making is energetically costly, often involving substantial time and energy to survey the environment to obtain high-quality information. Thus, for high decision making accuracy to evolve, its benefits should outweigh its costs. Inconsistency in the net benefits of decision making across environments is hypothesized to be an important means for maintaining variation in this trait. However, very little is known about how environmental factors influence the evolution of decision making to produce variation among individuals, genotypes, and species. Here, we compared two recently diverged species of Drosophila differing substantially in habitat breadth and degree of environmental predictability and variability: Drosophilasechellia and Drosophilasimulans. We found that the species evolving under higher environmental unpredictability and variability showed higher decision-making accuracy, but not higher environmental sampling.
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12
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13
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Sorato E, Zidar J, Garnham L, Wilson A, Løvlie H. Heritabilities and co-variation among cognitive traits in red junglefowl. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0285. [PMID: 30104430 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural selection can act on between-individual variation in cognitive abilities, yet evolutionary responses depend on the presence of underlying genetic variation. It is, therefore, crucial to determine the relative extent of genetic versus environmental control of these among-individual differences in cognitive traits to understand their causes and evolutionary potential. We investigated heritability of associative learning performance and of a cognitive judgement bias (optimism), as well as their covariation, in a captive pedigree-bred population of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus, n > 300 chicks over 5 years). We analysed performance in discriminative and reversal learning (two facets of associative learning), and cognitive judgement bias, by conducting animal models to disentangle genetic from environmental contributions. We demonstrate moderate heritability for reversal learning, and weak to no heritability for optimism and discriminative learning, respectively. The two facets of associative learning were weakly negatively correlated, consistent with hypothesized trade-offs underpinning individual cognitive styles. Reversal, but not discriminative learning performance, was associated with judgement bias; less optimistic individuals reversed a previously learnt association faster. Together these results indicate that genetic and environmental contributions differ among traits. While modular models of cognitive abilities predict a lack of common genetic control for different cognitive traits, further investigation is required to fully ascertain the degree of covariation between a broader range of cognitive traits and the extent of any shared genetic control.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Sorato
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping 581 83, Sweden
| | - Josefina Zidar
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping 581 83, Sweden
| | - Laura Garnham
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping 581 83, Sweden
| | - Alastair Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Hanne Løvlie
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, Linköping 581 83, Sweden
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14
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Dougherty LR, Guillette LM. Linking personality and cognition: a meta-analysis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0282. [PMID: 30104427 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade, several conceptual papers have linked variation in animal personality to variation in cognition, and recent years have seen a flood of empirical studies testing this link. However, these results have not been synthesized in a quantitative way. Here, we systematically search the literature and conduct a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis of empirical papers that have tested the relationship between animal personality (exploration, boldness, activity, aggression and sociability) and cognition (initial learning/reversal speed, number of correct choices/errors after standard training). We find evidence for a small but significant relationship between variation in personality and variation in learning across species in the absolute scale; however, the direction of this relationship is highly variable and when both positive and negative effect sizes are considered, the average effect size does not differ significantly from zero. Importantly, this variation among studies is not explained by differences in personality or learning measure, or taxonomic grouping. Further, these results do not support current hypotheses suggesting that that fast-explorers are fast-learners or that slow-explorers perform better on tests of reversal learning. Rather, we find evidence that bold animals are faster learners, but only when boldness is measured in response to a predator (or simulated predator) and not when boldness is measured by exposure to a novel object (or novel food). Further, although only a small sub-sample of papers reported results separately for males and females, sex explained a significant amount of variation in effect size. These results, therefore, suggest that, while personality and learning are indeed related across a range of species, the direction of this relationship is highly variable. Thus further empirical work is needed to determine whether there are important moderators of this relationship.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam R Dougherty
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7RB, UK
| | - Lauren M Guillette
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK .,Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada AB T6G 2R3
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15
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16
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Tan MK, Chang CC, Tan HTW. Shy herbivores forage more efficiently than bold ones regardless of information-processing overload. Behav Processes 2018; 149:52-58. [PMID: 29421222 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Revised: 02/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The neural constraint hypothesis is central to understanding decision-making by foraging herbivorous insects which make decisions less efficiently when they face multiple choices for numerous resource types and/or at high densities instead of a fewer choices. Previous studies have also shown the relationship between personality type and decision-making style. How personality types correlate with foraging efficiency among herbivores is however, largely untested. To answer this question, we used a widespread, polyphagous, floriphilic katydid, Phaneroptera brevis (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) and two naturalised, Asteraceae, food plants, Bidens pilosa and Sphagneticola trilobata, as model systems. After we determined each katydid's exploration and boldness levels, we examined its foraging efficiency across different combinations of floral resource choice and density. We showed: (1) For the first time within the Tettigonioidea lineage that this katydid exhibits different personality types in exploration and boldness. (2) Contrary to our prediction, we did not find any support for the neural constraint hypothesis because more floral resource choice at a high density did not reduce foraging efficiency. (3) Surprisingly, bold katydids tend to be less efficient foragers than shy ones. Our findings have enhanced understanding of herbivore behavioural ecology and knowledge to better deal with potential pest herbivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Kai Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Chia-Chen Chang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore
| | - Hugh T W Tan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore
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17
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Sprau P, Dingemanse NJ. An Approach to Distinguish between Plasticity and Non-random Distributions of Behavioral Types Along Urban Gradients in a Wild Passerine Bird. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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18
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Morand-Ferron J. Why learn? The adaptive value of associative learning in wild populations. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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19
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Chen W, Zhang Z, Buesching CD, Newman C, Macdonald DW, Xie Z, Sun S, Zhou Y. Discrimination behavior mediates foraging quality versus quantity trade-offs: nut choice in wild rodents. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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20
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Sprau P, Mouchet A, Dingemanse NJ. Multidimensional environmental predictors of variation in avian forest and city life histories. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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21
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Interactions between boldness, foraging performance and behavioural plasticity across social contexts. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016; 70:1879-1889. [PMID: 27784956 PMCID: PMC5054052 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2193-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Revised: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Boldness, the tendency to be explorative, risk prone and proactive, often varies consistently between individuals. An individual's position on the boldness-shyness continuum has many implications. Bold individuals may outperform shyer conspecifics during foraging as they cover more ground, accumulate information more rapidly and make more frequent food discoveries. Individual variation in boldness may also affect behavioural plasticity across environmental contexts, as the time to process new information, the ability to locate and memorise resources and the time and ability to apply prior information in a novel context all differ between individuals. The primary aim of the current study was to examine plasticity in, and covariation between, boldness, foraging speed and foraging accuracy across social foraging contexts. We showed that the stickleback that were shyest when foraging alone became relatively boldest when foraging in a social context and also delayed their entry to a known food patch the most in the presence of conspecifics. These results support the assertion that shyer foragers are more reactive to social cues and add to current knowledge of how an individual's position on the boldness-shyness continuum may correlate to foraging task performance and behavioural plasticity. We conclude that the correlation between boldness and behavioural plasticity may have broad relevance as the ability to adjust or retain behaviours in changing social environments could often have consequences for fitness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Animal personality may affect how much individuals change their behaviour to suit different environments. We studied the link between threespine stickleback personality (boldness or shyness), foraging performance and change in foraging performance when either alone or in the presence of other stickleback. We found that shyer threespine stickleback were more reactive to the presence of other fish when foraging. When observed or joined by other fish, shy stickleback started exploring earlier, but entered a known food patch later, than when alone. Bolder stickleback changed their foraging behaviour much less in the presence of other fish. Our results suggest that how bold or shy individuals are may have important consequences on how well they adjust their foraging behaviour to environmental change.
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Han CS, Jäger HY, Dingemanse NJ. Individuality in nutritional preferences: a multi-level approach in field crickets. Sci Rep 2016; 6:29071. [PMID: 27356870 PMCID: PMC4928176 DOI: 10.1038/srep29071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 06/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Selection may favour individuals of the same population to differ consistently in nutritional preference, for example, because optimal diets covary with morphology or personality. We provided Southern field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) with two synthetic food sources (carbohydrates and proteins) and quantified repeatedly how much of each macronutrient was consumed by each individual. We then quantified (i) whether individuals were repeatable in carbohydrate and protein intake rate, (ii) whether an individual's average daily intake of carbohydrates was correlated with its average daily intake of protein, and (iii) whether short-term changes in intake of carbohydrates coincided with changes in intake of protein within individuals. Intake rates were individually repeatable for both macronutrients. However, individuals differed in their relative daily intake of carbohydrates versus proteins (i.e., 'nutritional preference'). By contrast, total consumption varied plastically as a function of body weight within individuals. Body weight-but not personality (i.e., aggression, exploration behaviour)-positively predicted nutritional preference at the individual level as large crickets repeatedly consumed a higher carbohydrate to protein ratio compared to small ones. Our finding of level-specific associations between the consumption of distinct nutritional components demonstrates the merit of applying multivariate and multi-level viewpoints to the study of nutritional preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang S Han
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Heidi Y Jäger
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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