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Stanton LA, Cooley-Ackermann C, Davis EC, Fanelli RE, Benson-Amram S. Wild raccoons demonstrate flexibility and individuality in innovative problem-solving. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240911. [PMID: 39043237 PMCID: PMC11265930 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Cognitive skills, such as innovative problem-solving, are hypothesized to aid animals in urban environments. However, the significance of innovation in wild populations, and its expression across individuals and socio-ecological conditions, is poorly understood. To identify how and when innovation arises in urban-dwelling species, we used advanced technologies and new testing and analytical methods to evaluate innovative problem-solving abilities of wild raccoons (Procyon lotor). We deployed multi-compartment puzzle boxes with either one or multiple solution types and identified raccoons using radio frequency identification. Raccoons solved these novel extractive foraging tasks, and their success was influenced by age and exploratory diversity. Successful raccoons always discovered multiple different solution types, highlighting flexible problem-solving. Using a unique, comparative sequence analysis approach, we found that variation in raccoon solving techniques was greater between individuals than within individuals, and this self-similarity intensified during times of competition. Finally, the inclusion of an easier solution in the multi-solution trials enabled previously unsuccessful raccoons to bootstrap their learning and successfully open multiple difficult solutions. Our study suggests that innovative problem-solving is probably influenced by many factors and has provided novel field and analytical methods, as well as new insights on the socio-ecological dynamics of urban populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren A. Stanton
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
- Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA94720-3114, USA
| | | | - Emily C. Davis
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Rachel E. Fanelli
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Sarah Benson-Amram
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
- Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 3041-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British ColumbiaV6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, 4200-6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BCV6T 1Z4, Canada
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2
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Kikuchi DW. Who innovates? Abundance of novel and familiar food changes which animals are most persistent. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20231936. [PMID: 38228174 PMCID: PMC10791525 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Novel behaviours are the raw material of cultural evolution, yet we do not have a clear picture of when they are likely to arise. I use a state-dependent model to examine how individual age and energy reserves interact with the abundance of known and novel prey to promote dietary innovation (incorporating a new food item into the diet). I measure innovativeness as persistence in attempting to capture novel prey. I find a trend towards greater persistence among younger individuals. Decreased abundance of known prey and increased abundance of novel prey also favour persistence. However, many exceptions to these trends occur. These exceptions are critical because they may explain inconsistencies among studies of animal innovation. Care must be taken in experiments to control for multiple factors relevant to an animal's energy budget and foraging opportunities. We may learn more about innovation in experimental contexts by (i) manipulating the abundance of novel and familiar food resources, (ii) directly measuring animal age and condition, and-where possible-(iii) fitting nonlinear models to innovative behaviour. Results indicate that selection for persistence may also favour neophilia.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W. Kikuchi
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
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3
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Harrington KJ, Folkertsma R, Auersperg AMI, Biondi L, Lambert ML. Innovative problem solving by wild falcons. Curr Biol 2024; 34:190-195.e3. [PMID: 37989310 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Innovation (i.e., a new solution to a familiar problem, or applying an existing behavior to a novel problem1,2) plays a fundamental role in species' ecology and evolution. It can be a useful measure for cross-group comparisons of behavioral and cognitive flexibility and a proxy for general intelligence.3,4,5 Among birds, experimental studies of innovation (and cognition more generally) are largely from captive corvids and parrots,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 though we lack serious models for avian technical intelligence outside these taxa. Striated caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis) are Falconiformes, sister clade to parrots and passerines,13,14,15 and those endemic to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) show curiosity and neophilia similar to notoriously neophilic kea parrots16,17 and face similar socio-ecological pressures to corvids and parrots.18,19 We tested wild striated caracaras as a new avian model for technical cognition and innovation using a field-applicable 8-task comparative paradigm (adapted from Rössler et al.20 and Auersperg et al.21). The setup allowed us to assess behavior, rate, and flexibility of problem solving over repeated exposure in a natural setting. Like other generalist species with low neophobia,21,22 we predicted caracaras to demonstrate a haptic approach to solving tasks, flexibly switching to new, unsolved problems and improving their performance over time. Striated caracaras performed comparably to tool-using parrots,20 nearly reaching ceiling levels of innovation in few trials, repeatedly and flexibly solving tasks, and rapidly learning. We attribute our findings to the birds' ecology, including geographic restriction, resource unpredictability, and opportunistic generalism,23,24,25 and encourage future work investigating their cognitive abilities in the wild. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie J Harrington
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Remco Folkertsma
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Alice M I Auersperg
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Laura Biondi
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMdP - CONICET, Juan B. Justo 2550, Mar del Plata B7602GSD, Argentina
| | - Megan L Lambert
- Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
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Ibáñez de Aldecoa P, Tebbich S, Griffin AS. Persistence associated with extractive foraging explains variation in innovation in Darwin's finches. Behav Ecol 2024; 35:arad090. [PMID: 38193016 PMCID: PMC10773301 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The capacity to create new behaviors is influenced by environmental factors such as foraging ecology, which can lead to phylogenetic variation in innovativeness. Alternatively, these differences may arise due to the selection of the underlying mechanisms, collaterally affecting innovativeness. To understand the evolutionary pathways that might enhance innovativeness, we examined the role of diet breadth and degree of extractive foraging, as well as a range of intervening cognitive and behavioral mechanisms (neophilia, neophobia, flexibility, motivation, and persistence). Darwin's finches are very suitable to this purpose: the clade is composed of closely related species that vary in their feeding habits and capacity to develop food innovations. Using a multi-access box, we conducted an interspecies comparison on innovative problem-solving between two diet specialists, extractive foragers (woodpecker and cactus finch), and two diet generalists, non-extractive foragers (small and medium ground finch). We predicted that if extractive foraging was associated with high innovativeness, variation would be best explained by species differences in persistence and motivation, whereas if diet generalism was the main driver, then variation would be due to differences in flexibility and responses to novelty. We found a faster capacity to innovate and a higher persistence for extractive foragers, suggesting that persistence might be adaptive to extractive foraging and only secondarily to innovation. Our findings also show that diet generalism and some variables linking it to innovation were unrelated to innovativeness and call for the development of joint experimental approaches that capture the diversity of factors giving rise to novel behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Ibáñez de Aldecoa
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Biologiezentrum University of Vienna, Djerasiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sabine Tebbich
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Biologiezentrum University of Vienna, Djerasiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrea S Griffin
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
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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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Ibáñez de Aldecoa P, Auersperg AMI, Griffin AS, Tebbich S. Ratcheting up tool innovation in Goffin's cockatoos ( Cacatua goffiniana): The effect of contextually diverse prior experience. Ethology 2023; 129:133-145. [PMID: 37082334 PMCID: PMC10108129 DOI: 10.1111/eth.13351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The ability to gain information from one situation, acquire new skills and/or perfect existing ones, and subsequently apply them to a new situation is a key element in behavioural flexibility and a hallmark of innovation. A flexible agent is expected to store these skills and apply them to contexts different from that in which learning occurred. Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) are highly innovative parrots renowned for their problem-solving and tool-using skills and are thus excellent candidates to study this phenomenon. We hypothesized that birds allowed to use a tool in a larger variety of contingencies would acquire a broader expertise in handling it, facilitating its transfer to new tasks. In our study, we compared the performance of two groups of captive Goffin's cockatoos (N = 13): A test group received more diverse learning and motor experiences on multiple applications of a hook-type tool, while a control group received intensive, total trial-matched, experience with a single application of the same tool. Then, both groups were tested on two novel tasks to determine whether experience with the tool in multiple contexts would facilitate performance during transfer. While both groups transferred to both novel tasks, group differences in performance were apparent, particularly in the second transfer task, where test birds achieved a higher success rate and reached criteria within fewer trials than control birds. These results provide support for the prediction that experiencing a diverse range of contingencies with a tool appears to allow birds to acquire generalizable knowledge and transferrable skills to tackle an untrained problem more efficiently. In contrast, intensive experience with the tool in a single context might have made control birds less flexible and more fixated on previously learned tool-dependent instances.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alice M. I. Auersperg
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, University of Vienna, Medical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Andrea S. Griffin
- School of Psychology, University of NewcastleCallaghanNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Sabine Tebbich
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
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7
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Rössler T, Auersperg AM. Recent developments in parrot cognition: a quadrennial update. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:199-228. [PMID: 36547738 PMCID: PMC9877086 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01733-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Psittacines, along with corvids, are commonly referred to as 'feathered apes' due to their advanced cognitive abilities. Until rather recently, the research effort on parrot cognition was lagging behind that on corvids, however current developments show that the number of parrot studies is steadily increasing. In 2018, M. L. Lambert et al. provided a comprehensive review on the status of the most important work done so far in parrot and corvid cognition. Nevertheless, only a little more than 4 years after this publication, more than 50 new parrot studies have been published, some of them chartering completely new territory. On the 25th anniversary of Animal Cognition we think this warrants a detailed review of parrot cognition research over the last 4 years. We aim to capture recent developments and current trends in this rapidly expanding and diversifying field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Rössler
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ,grid.10420.370000 0001 2286 1424Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alice M. Auersperg
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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8
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Healy SD. Adding the neuro to cognition: from food storing to nest building. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:249-260. [PMID: 36482117 PMCID: PMC9876861 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01725-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Typically, investigations of animal cognition couple careful experimental manipulations with examination of the animal's behavioural responses. Sometimes those questions have included attempts to describe the neural underpinnings of the behavioural outputs. Over the past 25 years, behaviours that involve spatial learning and memory (such as navigation and food storing) has been one context in which such dual or correlated investigations have been both accessible and productive. Here I review some of that work and where it has led. Because of the wealth of data and insights gained from that work and song learning before it, it seems that it might also be useful to try to add some neurobiology to other systems in animal cognition. I finish then, with a description of recent work on the cognition and neurobiology of avian nest building. It is still relatively early days but asking questions about the cognition of nest building has already shown both neural correlates of nest building and that learning and memory play a much greater role in this behaviour than previously considered. While it is not yet clear how putting these components together will be synergistic, the examples of song learning and food storing provide encouragement. Perhaps this might be true for other behaviours too?
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Healy
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, UK.
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9
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How alien species use cognition to discover, handle, taste, and adopt novel foods. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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10
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O'Connor VL, Thomas P, Chodorow M, Borrego N. Exploring innovative problem-solving in African lions (Panthera leo) and snow leopards (Panthera uncia). Behav Processes 2022; 199:104648. [PMID: 35491002 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive ability is likely linked to adaptive ability; animals use cognition to innovate and problem-solve in their physical and social environments. We investigated innovative problem-solving in two species of high conservation importance: African lions (Panthera leo; n = 6) and snow leopards (Panthera uncia; n = 9). We designed a custom multi-access puzzle box (MAB) to present a simple and effective behavioral test for the cats to explore. We measured Repeated Innovation, Persistence, Success, Contact Latency, and the Exploration Diversity of individuals interacting with the MAB. Of the six African lions, three (50%) solved one door to the box, one solved two doors (16.67%), and one solved three doors (16.67%). Of the nine snow leopards, one solved one door (11.11%), three solved two doors (33.33%), and none solved all three doors (0%). Persistence was a significant predictor of Success in African lions and snow leopards; more Persistent individuals were more likely to open a door. We also observed significant individual variation in Persistence for both species, but only snow leopards also exhibited differences in Contact Latency and Exploration Diversity. These results suggest individuals vary in their problem-solving approaches. Our findings support both species as successful, repeated innovators. Carnivores face ecological and social challenges and, presumably, benefit from cognitive abilities facilitating the successful navigation of these challenges in captivity and the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria L O'Connor
- Animal Behavior and Conservation Program, Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester Hills, MI, USA.
| | - Patrick Thomas
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx Zoo, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Martin Chodorow
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Natalia Borrego
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz and Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany; Lion Research Center, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
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11
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Osuna-Mascaró AJ, Mundry R, Tebbich S, Beck SR, Auersperg AMI. Innovative composite tool use by Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Sci Rep 2022; 12:1510. [PMID: 35087147 PMCID: PMC8795444 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05529-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Composite tool use (using more than one tool simultaneously to achieve an end) has played a significant role in the development of human technology. Typically, it depends on a number of specific and often complex spatial relations and there are thus very few reported cases in non-human animals (e.g., specific nut-cracking techniques in chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys). The innovative strategies underlying the innovation and spread of tool manufacture and associative tool use (using > 1 tools) across tool using animals is an important milestone towards a better understanding of the evolution of human technology. We tested Goffin's cockatoos on a composite tool problem, the 'Golf Club Task', that requires the use of two objects in combination (one used to control the free movement of a second) to get a reward. We demonstrate that these parrots can innovate composite tool use by actively controlling the position of the end effector and movement of both objects involved in a goal directed manner. The consistent use of different techniques by different subjects highlights the innovative nature of the individual solutions. To test whether the solution could be socially transmitted, we conducted a second study, which provided only tentative evidence for emulative learning. To our knowledge, this indicates that the cognitive preconditions for composite tool use have also evolved outside the primate lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio J Osuna-Mascaró
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Roger Mundry
- German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sabine Tebbich
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah R Beck
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Alice M I Auersperg
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Medical University of Vienna and University of Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
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Henke-von der Malsburg J, Kappeler PM, Fichtel C. Linking cognition to ecology in wild sympatric mouse lemur species. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211728. [PMID: 34814746 PMCID: PMC8611352 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive abilities covary with both social and ecological factors across animal taxa. Ecological generalists have been attributed with enhanced cognitive abilities, but which specific ecological factors may have shaped the evolution of which specific cognitive abilities remains poorly known. To explore these links, we applied a cognitive test battery (two personality, ten cognitive tests; n = 1104 tests) to wild individuals of two sympatric mouse lemur species (n = 120 Microcebus murinus, n = 34 M. berthae) varying in ecological adaptations but sharing key features of their social systems. The habitat and dietary generalist grey mouse lemurs were more innovative and exhibited better spatial learning abilities; a cognitive advantage in responding adaptively to dynamic environmental conditions. The more specialized Madame Berthe's mouse lemurs were faster in learning associative reward contingencies, providing relative advantages in stable environmental conditions. Hence, our study revealed key cognitive correlates of ecological adaptations and indicates potential cognitive constraints of specialists that may help explain why they face a greater extinction risk in the context of current environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Henke-von der Malsburg
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus ‘Primate Cognition’, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter M. Kappeler
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Claudia Fichtel
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus ‘Primate Cognition’, Göttingen, Germany
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Behavioural factors underlying innovative problem-solving differences in an avian predator from two contrasting habitats. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:529-543. [PMID: 34709499 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01569-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Innovative behavior is considered one of the main factors facilitating the adaptation of animals to urban life. However, the relationship between urbanization and innovativeness is equivocal, perhaps reflecting aspects of urban environments that influence differently the behavioural traits underlying the occurrence of an innovation. In this work, we analysed the variation in innovative problem-solving performance between urban and rural individuals of the Caracara Chimango (Milvago chimango), with the goal of determining which behavioural trait (or combination) most explained such variation. We found that urban raptors outperformed rural ones in their solving speed and solving level (number of solutions) with a multiaccess box. They also showed more persistence, motor flexibility and diversity, as well as higher effectiveness in their solving attempts than rural chimangos. Sex was not an important factor. Urban chimangos showed less neophobia and spent more time exploring the box than rural birds during the initial habituation period, which probably determined the amount of information about the system that each individual had at the beginning of first problem solving trial. This difference in novelty response both directly and indirectly, through its relationship with persistence, motor flexibility and proportion of effective attempts, explained variability in solving performance. All individuals showed a decrease in solving latency, and an increase in solving level with experience, indicating that learning occurred in both raptor groups. This improvement occurred in parallel with changes in the afore-mentioned traits, though the pattern of improvement differed between urban and rural chimangos. We suggest that the characteristics of urban areas modulate the novelty response of chimangos, along with other correlated non-cognitive behavioural traits, which act in combination to increase the chances that novel problems could be quickly solved, and the resulting new behaviours established in city populations of this species.
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Castano MV, Biondi LM, Favero M, García GO. Innovative problem-solving in a threatened gull species, the Olrog's Gull (Larus atlanticus). Anim Cogn 2021; 25:519-527. [PMID: 34705139 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01572-7] [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] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Innovation, a process that plays an important role in the ecology and evolution of species, is considered an expression of behavioral flexibility in animals. Here we analyzed innovative problem-solving ability and performance enhancement through learning in the Olrog's Gull (Larus atlanticus), under controlled processes and experimental conditions. Trials were undertaken with nine adult individuals captured at a highly urbanized coastal area of Argentina. Each individual was presented with a Plexiglas box that could be opened by pushing or pulling two lids, each lid leading to a separated food reward. We measured problem-solving ability through consumption latency and the number of solved lids. As explanatory variables, we measured contact rate, as a measure of persistence, and the number of effective contacts. The results showed that the contact rate and effective contacts did not affect variables related to problem-solving ability during the first confrontation of the individuals with the closed box. Consumption latency decreased significantly throughout the trials, and with increasing contact rate and effective contacts. The number of solved lids increased through the trials independently of the contact rate and the total effective contacts with the box. Although persistence did not influence individuals' performance during the problem-solving test; this variable affected individuals' ability to solve the task throughout trials. Learning was evidenced by the decrease in the resolution time across experiments, suggesting that successful individuals improved their performance probably through a trial-and-error process. Evaluation of behavioral responses of a threatened seabird to a novel problem-solving task adds knowledge to previous field studies and provides a better understanding of the ability of individuals to adjust their foraging behavior in highly urbanized areas used during the non-breeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melina Vanesa Castano
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rodriguez Peña 4046 Nivel 1, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
| | - Laura Marina Biondi
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rodriguez Peña 4046 Nivel 1, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Marco Favero
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rodriguez Peña 4046 Nivel 1, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Germán Oscar García
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rodriguez Peña 4046 Nivel 1, B7602GSD, Mar del Plata, Argentina
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15
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Richman SK, Barker JL, Baek M, Papaj DR, Irwin RE, Bronstein JL. The Sensory and Cognitive Ecology of Nectar Robbing. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.698137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals foraging from flowers must assess their environment and make critical decisions about which patches, plants, and flowers to exploit to obtain limiting resources. The cognitive ecology of plant-pollinator interactions explores not only the complex nature of pollinator foraging behavior and decision making, but also how cognition shapes pollination and plant fitness. Floral visitors sometimes depart from what we think of as typical pollinator behavior and instead exploit floral resources by robbing nectar (bypassing the floral opening and instead consuming nectar through holes or perforations made in floral tissue). The impacts of nectar robbing on plant fitness are well-studied; however, there is considerably less understanding, from the animal’s perspective, about the cognitive processes underlying nectar robbing. Examining nectar robbing from the standpoint of animal cognition is important for understanding the evolution of this behavior and its ecological and evolutionary consequences. In this review, we draw on central concepts of foraging ecology and animal cognition to consider nectar robbing behavior either when individuals use robbing as their only foraging strategy or when they switch between robbing and legitimate foraging. We discuss sensory and cognitive biases, learning, and the role of a variable environment in making decisions about robbing vs. foraging legitimately. We also discuss ways in which an understanding of the cognitive processes involved in nectar robbing can address questions about how plant-robber interactions affect patterns of natural selection and floral evolution. We conclude by highlighting future research directions on the sensory and cognitive ecology of nectar robbing.
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16
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Krueger K, Esch L, Byrne R. Need or opportunity? A study of innovations in equids. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257730. [PMID: 34570831 PMCID: PMC8476013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Debate persists over whether animals develop innovative solutions primarily in response to needs or conversely whether they innovate more when basic needs are covered and opportunity to develop novel behaviour is offered. We sourced 746 cases of "unusual" behaviour in equids by contacting equid owners and caretakers directly and via a website (https://innovative-behaviour.org), and by searching the internet platforms YouTube and Facebook for videos. The study investigated whether differences in need or opportunity for innovation were reflected in the numbers of different types of innovations and in the frequencies of repeating a once-innovative behaviour (i) with respect to the equids' sex, age, and breed type, (ii) across behavioural categories, and whether (iii) they were affected by the equids' management (single vs group housing, access to roughage feed, access to pasture, and social contact). We found that the numbers of different types of innovation and the frequency of displaying specific innovations were not affected by individual characteristics (sex, age, breed or equid species). Few types of innovation in escape and foraging contexts were observed, whilst the comfort, play, and social contexts elicited the greatest variety of innovations. We also found higher numbers of different types of innovations in horses kept in groups rather than in individual housing, and with unlimited rather than with restricted access to pasture and roughage. Equids in permanent social contact performed high rates of once-innovative behaviour. We suggest that equids produce goal-directed innovations and repeat the behaviour at high frequency in response to urgent needs for food and free movement or when kept in conditions with social conflict. However, equids devise the greatest variety of innovations when opportunity to play and to develop comfort behaviour arises and when kept in good conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstanze Krueger
- Department Equine Economics, Faculty Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Nürtingen, Germany
- Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Laureen Esch
- Department Equine Economics, Faculty Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Nürtingen, Germany
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Hygiene and Animal Husbandry, Chair of Animal Welfare, Ethology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Richard Byrne
- Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
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17
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An investigation of population variation in maze exploration and its predictors in wild Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Behav Processes 2021; 192:104475. [PMID: 34375727 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Individuals often face unpredictable and harsh environments, presenting them with novel ecological problems. Behaviour can provide an adaptive response in such conditions and where these conditions vary between populations, we may predict development and evolution to shape differences in behaviour such as exploration, innovation, and learning, as well as other traits. Here, we compared in the wild the maze swimming performance of groups of female guppies from two Trinidadian populations that differ in numerous ecological characteristics, the Upper and Lower Aripo river. Compared to Upper Aripo fish, Lower Aripo fish were slower to complete the maze, our measure of propensity to innovate, and scored lower on a combined measure of activity and exploration. More active-exploratory groups were faster to complete the maze, but only in the Lower Aripo. We found no evidence for learning the maze. Our results suggest that activity-exploratory and innovative propensities can vary between populations, as can predictors of innovation. These findings are consistent with high predation risk shaping decreased activity-exploratory propensities, but further population comparisons are required to reliably determine the drivers of the observed population difference. Our results emphasize that individual and population differences in activity-exploration and innovation can be shaped by numerous factors.
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18
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Perry S, Carter A, Smolla M, Akçay E, Nöbel S, Foster JG, Healy SD. Not by transmission alone: the role of invention in cultural evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200049. [PMID: 33993757 PMCID: PMC8126456 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Innovation—the combination of invention and social learning—can empower species to invade new niches via cultural adaptation. Social learning has typically been regarded as the fundamental driver for the emergence of traditions and thus culture. Consequently, invention has been relatively understudied outside the human lineage—despite being the source of new traditions. This neglect leaves basic questions unanswered: what factors promote the creation of new ideas and practices? What affects their spread or loss? We critically review the existing literature, focusing on four levels of investigation: traits (what sorts of behaviours are easiest to invent?), individuals (what factors make some individuals more likely to be inventors?), ecological contexts (what aspects of the environment make invention or transmission more likely?), and populations (what features of relationships and societies promote the rise and spread of new inventions?). We aim to inspire new research by highlighting theoretical and empirical gaps in the study of innovation, focusing primarily on inventions in non-humans. Understanding the role of invention and innovation in the history of life requires a well-developed theoretical framework (which embraces cognitive processes) and a taxonomically broad, cross-species dataset that explicitly investigates inventions and their transmission. We outline such an agenda here. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Foundations of cultural evolution’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Perry
- Department of Anthropology, and Behavior, Evolution and Culture Program, 341 Haines Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Alecia Carter
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France.,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marco Smolla
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Erol Akçay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sabine Nöbel
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Toulouse, France.,Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse, France
| | - Jacob G Foster
- Department of Sociology, 264 Haines Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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19
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Rowell MK, Pillay N, Rymer TL. Problem Solving in Animals: Proposal for an Ontogenetic Perspective. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:866. [PMID: 33803609 PMCID: PMC8002912 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Problem solving, the act of overcoming an obstacle to obtain an incentive, has been studied in a wide variety of taxa, and is often based on simple strategies such as trial-and-error learning, instead of higher-order cognitive processes, such as insight. There are large variations in problem solving abilities between species, populations and individuals, and this variation could arise due to differences in development, and other intrinsic (genetic, neuroendocrine and aging) and extrinsic (environmental) factors. However, experimental studies investigating the ontogeny of problem solving are lacking. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of problem solving from an ontogenetic perspective. The focus is to highlight aspects of problem solving that have been overlooked in the current literature, and highlight why developmental influences of problem-solving ability are particularly important avenues for future investigation. We argue that the ultimate outcome of solving a problem is underpinned by interacting cognitive, physiological and behavioural components, all of which are affected by ontogenetic factors. We emphasise that, due to the large number of confounding ontogenetic influences, an individual-centric approach is important for a full understanding of the development of problem solving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misha K. Rowell
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia;
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa;
| | - Tasmin L. Rymer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia;
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, P. O. Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa;
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20
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Social Structure. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-82879-0_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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21
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Abstract
Behavioural innovations with tool-like objects in non-habitually tool-using species are thought to require complex physical understanding, but the underlying cognitive processes remain poorly understood. A few parrot species are capable of innovating tool-use and borderline tool-use behaviours. We tested this capacity in two species of macaw (Ara ambiguus, n = 9; Ara glaucogularis, n = 8) to investigate if they could solve a problem-solving task through manufacture of a multi-stone construction. Specifically, after having functional experience with a pre-inserted stick tool to push a reward out of a horizontal tube, the subjects were required to insert five stones consecutively from one side to perform the same function as the stick tool with the resulting multi-component construction. One Ara glaucogularis solved the task and innovated the stone construction after the experience with the stick tool. Two more subjects (one of each species) did so after having further functional experience of a single stone pushing a reward out of a shortened tube. These subjects were able to consistently solve the task, but often made errors, for example counter-productive stone insertions from the opposing end, even in some of the successful trials. Conversely, multiple trials without errors also suggested a strong goal direction. Their performance in the follow-up tasks was inconclusive since they sometimes inserted stones into un-baited or blocked ‘dummy tubes’, but this could have been an attention-deficit behaviour as subjects had not encountered these ‘dummy tubes’ before. Overall, the successful subjects’ performance was so erratic that it proved difficult to conclude whether they had functional understanding of their multi-stone constructions.
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22
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Toddlers, Tools, and Tech: The Cognitive Ontogenesis of Innovation. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 25:81-92. [PMID: 33223481 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The development of tool innovation presents a paradox. How do humans have such diverse and complex technology, ranging from smartphones to aircraft, and yet young children find even simple tool innovation challenges, such as fashioning a hook to retrieve a basket from a tube, remarkably difficult? We propose that the solution to this paradox is the cognitive ontogenesis of tool innovation. Using a common measure of children's tool innovation, we describe how multiple cognitive mechanisms work in concert at each step of its process: recognizing the problem, generating appropriate solutions, and the social transmission of innovations. We discuss what the ontogeny of this skill tells us about cognitive and cultural evolution and provide recommendations for future research.
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23
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Audet JN. Neurobiological and Ecological Correlates of Avian Innovation. Integr Comp Biol 2020; 60:955-966. [PMID: 32681794 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the wild, particularly in rapidly changing conditions, being capable of solving new problems can increase an animal's chances of survival and reproduction. In the current context of widespread habitat destruction and increasing urbanization, innovativeness might be a crucial trait. In the past few decades, birds have proven to be a model taxon for the study of innovation, thanks to the abundant literature on avian innovation reports. Innovation databases in birds have been successfully employed to assess associations between innovativeness and other traits such as invasion success, life history, generalism, and brain encephalization. In order to more directly assess the causes of variation in innovation, a complementary approach consists in measuring innovativeness in wild-caught animals using problem-solving tasks that mimic innovations in the field. This method can allow for finer scale evaluation of ecological and neural correlates of innovation. Here, I review some of the most important findings on the correlates of innovation, with a particular focus on neural ones. I conclude by discussing avenues for future research, which I suggest should focus on neurobiology.
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24
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Using an Innovation Arena to compare wild-caught and laboratory Goffin's cockatoos. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8681. [PMID: 32457402 PMCID: PMC7250841 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65223-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to innovate, i.e., to exhibit new or modified learned behaviours, can facilitate adaptation to environmental changes or exploiting novel resources. We hereby introduce a comparative approach for studying innovation rate, the ‘Innovation Arena’ (IA), featuring the simultaneous presentation of 20 interchangeable tasks, which subjects encounter repeatedly. The new design allows for the experimental study of innovation per time unit and for uncovering group-specific problem-solving abilities – an important feature for comparing animals with different predispositions and life histories. We applied the IA for the first time to investigate how long-term captivity affects innovative capacities in the Goffin’s cockatoo, an avian model species for animal innovation. We found that fewer temporarily-captive wild birds are inclined to consistently interact with the apparatus in comparison to laboratory-raised birds. However, those that are interested solve a similar number of tasks at a similar rate, indicating no difference in the cognitive ability to solve technical problems. Our findings thus provide a contrast to previous literature, which suggested enhanced cognitive abilities and technical problem-solving skills in long-term captive animals. We discuss the impact and discrepancy between motivation and cognitive ability on innovation rate. Our findings contribute to the debate on how captivity affects innovation in animals.
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25
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Bandini E, Harrison RA. Innovation in chimpanzees. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1167-1197. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Bandini
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology The University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Rachel A. Harrison
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
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26
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Biondi L, Fuentes G, Córdoba R, Bó M, Cavalli M, Paterlini C, Castano M, García G. Variation in boldness and novelty response between rural and urban predatory birds: The Chimango Caracara, Milvago chimango as study case. Behav Processes 2020; 173:104064. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2018] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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27
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Greggor AL, Trimmer PC, Barrett BJ, Sih A. Challenges of Learning to Escape Evolutionary Traps. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
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28
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User innovation: a novel framework for studying animal innovation within a comparative context. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:1185-1190. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01303-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2019] [Revised: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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29
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Amici F, Widdig A, Lehmann J, Majolo B. A meta-analysis of interindividual differences in innovation. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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30
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Chen J, Zou Y, Sun YH, Ten Cate C. Problem-solving males become more attractive to female budgerigars. Science 2019; 363:166-167. [PMID: 30630929 DOI: 10.1126/science.aau8181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Darwin proposed that mate choice might contribute to the evolution of cognitive abilities. An open question is whether observing the cognitive skills of an individual makes it more attractive as a mate. In this study, we demonstrated that initially less-preferred budgerigar males became preferred after females observed that these males, but not the initially preferred ones, were able to solve extractive foraging problems. This preference shift did not occur in control experiments in which females observed males with free access to food or in which females observed female demonstrators solving these extractive foraging problems. Our results suggest that direct observation of problem-solving skills increases male attractiveness and that this could contribute to the evolution of the cognitive abilities underlying such skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiani Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuqi Zou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yue-Hua Sun
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Carel Ten Cate
- Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
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31
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Prasher S, Evans JC, Thompson MJ, Morand-Ferron J. Characterizing innovators: Ecological and individual predictors of problem-solving performance. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0217464. [PMID: 31188843 PMCID: PMC6561637 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioural innovation, the use of new behaviours or existing ones in novel contexts, can have important ecological and evolutionary consequences for animals. An understanding of these consequences would be incomplete without considering the traits that predispose certain individuals to exhibit innovative behaviour. Several individual and ecological variables are hypothesized to affect innovativeness, but empirical studies show mixed results. We examined the effects of dominance rank, exploratory personality, and urbanisation on the innovativeness of wild-caught black-capped chickadees using a survival analysis of their performance in two problem-solving tasks. Additionally, we provide one of the first investigations of the predictors of persistence in a problem-solving context. For lever pulling, we found a trend for dominants to outperform subordinates, particularly in rural birds, which did not align with predictions from the necessity drives innovation hypothesis. When examining possible explanations for this trend we found that older chickadees outperformed younger birds. This follow-up analysis also revealed a positive effect of exploratory personality on the lever-pulling performance of chickadees. Our results suggest that experience may foster innovation in certain circumstances, for instance via the application of previously-acquired information or skills to a novel problem. As we found different predictors for both tasks, this suggests that task characteristics influence the innovative propensity of individuals, and that their effects should be investigated experimentally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay Prasher
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julian C. Evans
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Megan J. Thompson
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julie Morand-Ferron
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
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32
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Abstract
As an increasing number of researchers investigate the cognitive abilities of an ever-wider range of animals, animal cognition is currently among the most exciting fields within animal behavior. Tinbergen would be proud: all four of his approaches are being pursued and we are learning much about how animals collect information and how they use that information to make decisions for their current and future states as well as what animals do not perceive or choose to ignore. Here I provide an overview of this productivity, alighting only briefly on any single example, to showcase the diversity of species, of approaches and the sheer mass of research effort currently under way. We are getting closer to understanding the minds of other animals and the evolution of cognition at an increasingly rapid rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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33
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O’Hara M, Mioduszewska B, Haryoko T, Prawiradilaga D, Huber L, Auersperg A. Extraction without tooling around — The first comprehensive description of the foraging- and socio-ecology of wild Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). BEHAVIOUR 2019. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
When tested under laboratory conditions, Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) demonstrate numerous sophisticated cognitive skills. Most importantly, this species has shown the ability to manufacture and use tools. However, little is known about the ecology of these cockatoos, endemic to the Tanimbar Islands in Indonesia. Here we provide first insights into the feeding- and socio-ecology of the wild Goffin’s cockatoos and propose potential links between their behaviour in natural settings and their advanced problem-solving capacities shown in captivity. Observational data suggests that Goffin’s cockatoos rely on a large variety of partially seasonal resources. Furthermore, several food types require different extraction techniques. These ecological and behavioural characteristics fall in line with current hypotheses regarding the evolution of complex cognition and innovativeness. We discuss how the efficiency of (extractive) foraging may preclude tool use in wild Goffin’s cockatoos, even though the corresponding cognitive and ecological prerequisites seem to be present.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. O’Hara
- aComparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - B. Mioduszewska
- aComparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
- bMax Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - T. Haryoko
- cResearch Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jl. Raya Jakarta - Bogor Km.46 Cibinong 16911 Bogor, Indonesia
| | - D.M. Prawiradilaga
- cResearch Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jl. Raya Jakarta - Bogor Km.46 Cibinong 16911 Bogor, Indonesia
| | - L. Huber
- aComparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - A. Auersperg
- aComparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
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Hochberg ME, Marquet PA, Boyd R, Wagner A. Innovation: an emerging focus from cells to societies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0414. [PMID: 29061887 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Innovations are generally unexpected, often spectacular changes in phenotypes and ecological functions. The contributions to this theme issue are the latest conceptual, theoretical and experimental developments, addressing how ecology, environment, ontogeny and evolution are central to understanding the complexity of the processes underlying innovations. Here, we set the stage by introducing and defining key terms relating to innovation and discuss their relevance to biological, cultural and technological change. Discovering how the generation and transmission of novel biological information, environmental interactions and selective evolutionary processes contribute to innovation as an ecosystem will shed light on how the dominant features across life come to be, generalize to social, cultural and technological evolution, and have applications in the health sciences and sustainability.This article is part of the theme issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Hochberg
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université de Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France .,Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.,Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 31015 Toulouse, France
| | - Pablo A Marquet
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.,Departamento de Ecologı́a, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago, Chile.,Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile.,Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Valparaíso (ISCV), Artillería 4780, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Robert Boyd
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.,School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Andreas Wagner
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Chiver I, Schlinger BA. Clearing up the court: sex and the endocrine basis of display-court manipulation. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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Griffin AS, Netto K, Peneaux C. Neophilia, innovation and learning in an urbanized world: a critical evaluation of mixed findings. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Bókony V, Pipoly I, Szabó K, Preiszner B, Vincze E, Papp S, Seress G, Hammer T, Liker A. Innovative females are more promiscuous in great tits (Parus major). Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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The Ecology of Social Learning in Animals and its Link with Intelligence. SPANISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 19:E99. [DOI: 10.1017/sjp.2016.100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractClassical ethology and behavioral ecology did not pay much attention to learning. However, studies of social learning in nature reviewed here reveal the near-ubiquity of reliance on social information for skill acquisition by developing birds and mammals. This conclusion strengthens the plausibility of the cultural intelligence hypothesis for the evolution of intelligence, which assumes that selection on social learning abilities automatically improves individual learning ability. Thus, intelligent species will generally be cultural species. Direct tests of the cultural intelligence hypothesis require good estimates of the amount and kind of social learning taking place in nature in a broad variety of species. These estimates are lacking so far. Here, we start the process of developing a functional classification of social learning, in the form of the social learning spectrum, which should help to predict the mechanisms of social learning involved. Once validated, the categories can be used to estimate the cognitive demands of social learning in the wild.
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Griffin AS. Innovativeness as an emergent property: a new alignment of comparative and experimental research on animal innovation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:rstb.2015.0544. [PMID: 26926287 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Innovation and creativity are key defining features of human societies. As we face the global challenges of the twenty-first century, they are also facets upon which we must become increasingly reliant. But what makes Homo sapiens so innovative and where does our high innovation propensity come from? Comparative research on innovativeness in non-human animals allows us to peer back through evolutionary time and investigate the ecological factors that drove the evolution of innovativeness, whereas experimental research identifies and manipulates underpinning creative processes. In commenting on the present theme issue, I highlight the controversies that have typified this research field and show how a paradigmatic shift in our thinking about innovativeness will contribute to resolving these tensions. In the past decade, innovativeness has been considered by many as a trait, a direct product of cognition, and a direct target of selection. The evidence I review here suggests that innovativeness will be hereon viewed as one component, or even an emergent property of a larger array of traits, which have evolved to deal with environmental variation. I illustrate how research should capitalize on taxonomic diversity to unravel the full range of psychological processes that underpin innovativeness in non-human animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S Griffin
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, 2308 New South Wales, Australia
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Quinn JL, Cole EF, Reed TE, Morand-Ferron J. Environmental and genetic determinants of innovativeness in a natural population of birds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:rstb.2015.0184. [PMID: 26926275 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Much of the evidence for the idea that individuals differ in their propensity to innovate and solve new problems has come from studies on captive primates. Increasingly, behavioural ecologists are studying innovativeness in wild populations, and uncovering links with functional behaviour and fitness-related traits. The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in driving this variation, however, remains unknown. Here, we present the results of the first large-scale study to examine a range of causal factors underlying innovative problem-solving performance (PSP) among 831 great tits (Parus major) temporarily taken into captivity. Analyses show that PSP in this population: (i) was linked to a variety of individual factors, including age, personality and natal origin (immigrant or local-born); (ii) was influenced by natal environment, because individuals had a lower PSP when born in poor-quality habitat, or where local population density was high, leading to cohort effects. Links with many of the individual and environmental factors were present only in some years. In addition, PSP (iii) had little or no measurable heritability, as estimated by a Bayesian animal model; and (iv) was not influenced by maternal effects. Despite previous reports of links between PSP and a range of functional traits in this population, the analyses here suggest that innovativeness had weak if any evolutionary potential. Instead most individual variation was caused by phenotypic plasticity driven by links with other behavioural traits and by environmentally mediated developmental stress. Heritability estimates are population, time and context specific, however, and more studies are needed to determine the generality of these effects. Our results shed light on the causes of innovativeness within populations, and add to the debate on the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in driving phenotypic variation within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- John L Quinn
- School of BEES, University College Cork, North Mall, Cork, T23 N73K, Republic of Ireland Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Ella F Cole
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Thomas E Reed
- School of BEES, University College Cork, North Mall, Cork, T23 N73K, Republic of Ireland
| | - Julie Morand-Ferron
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
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Sterelny K. Adaptable individuals and innovative lineages. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:rstb.2015.0196. [PMID: 26926286 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper suggests (i) that while work on animal innovation has made good progress in understanding some of the proximate mechanisms and selective regimes through which innovation emerges, it has somewhat neglected the role of the social environment of innovation; a neglect manifest in the fact that innovation counts are almost always counts of resource-acquisition innovations; the invention of social tools is rarely considered. The same is true of many experimental projects, as these typically impose food acquisition tasks on their experimental subjects. (ii) That neglect is important, because innovations often pose collective action problems; the hominin species were technically innovative because they were also socially adaptable. (iii) In part for this reason, there remains a disconnect between research on hominin innovation and research on animal innovation. (iv) Finally, the paper suggests that there is something of a disconnect between the theoretical work on innovation in hominin evolution (based on theories of cultural evolution) and the experimental tradition on human innovation. That disconnect is largely due to the theoretical work retreating from strong claims about the proximate mechanisms of human cultural accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Sterelny
- School of Philosophy, Australian National University, Coombs Building, Fellows Road, Acton, Canberra, 0200 ACT, Australia
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Guez D, Griffin AS. Unraveling the key to innovative problem solving: a test of learning versus persistence. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Reader SM, Morand-Ferron J, Flynn E. Animal and human innovation: novel problems and novel solutions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150182. [PMID: 26926273 PMCID: PMC4780525 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This theme issue explores how and why behavioural innovation occurs, and the consequences of innovation for individuals, groups and populations. A vast literature on human innovation exists, from the development of problem-solving in children, to the evolution of technology, to the cultural systems supporting innovation. A more recent development is a growing literature on animal innovation, which has demonstrated links between innovation and personality traits, cognitive traits, neural measures, changing conditions, and the current state of the social and physical environment. Here, we introduce these fields, define key terms and discuss the potential for fruitful exchange between the diverse fields researching innovation. Comparisons of innovation between human and non-human animals provide opportunities, but also pitfalls. We also summarize some key findings specifying the circumstances in which innovation occurs, discussing factors such as the intrinsic nature of innovative individuals and the environmental and socio-ecological conditions that promote innovation, such as necessity, opportunity and free resources. We also highlight key controversies, including the relationship between innovation and intelligence, and the notion of innovativeness as an individual-level trait. Finally, we discuss current research methods and suggest some novel approaches that could fruitfully be deployed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon M Reader
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Julie Morand-Ferron
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
| | - Emma Flynn
- School of Education, Durham University, Durham DH1 1TE, UK
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Navarrete AF, Reader SM, Street SE, Whalen A, Laland KN. The coevolution of innovation and technical intelligence in primates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150186. [PMID: 26926276 PMCID: PMC4780528 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/23/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In birds and primates, the frequency of behavioural innovation has been shown to covary with absolute and relative brain size, leading to the suggestion that large brains allow animals to innovate, and/or that selection for innovativeness, together with social learning, may have driven brain enlargement. We examined the relationship between primate brain size and both technical (i.e. tool using) and non-technical innovation, deploying a combination of phylogenetically informed regression and exploratory causal graph analyses. Regression analyses revealed that absolute and relative brain size correlated positively with technical innovation, and exhibited consistently weaker, but still positive, relationships with non-technical innovation. These findings mirror similar results in birds. Our exploratory causal graph analyses suggested that technical innovation shares strong direct relationships with brain size, body size, social learning rate and social group size, whereas non-technical innovation did not exhibit a direct relationship with brain size. Nonetheless, non-technical innovation was linked to brain size indirectly via diet and life-history variables. Our findings support 'technical intelligence' hypotheses in linking technical innovation to encephalization in the restricted set of primate lineages where technical innovation has been reported. Our findings also provide support for a broad co-evolving complex of brain, behaviour, life-history, social and dietary variables, providing secondary support for social and ecological intelligence hypotheses. The ability to gain access to difficult-to-extract, but potentially nutrient-rich, resources through tool use may have conferred on some primates adaptive advantages, leading to selection for brain circuitry that underlies technical proficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana F Navarrete
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, UK
| | - Simon M Reader
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Doctor Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Sally E Street
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, UK School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire HU6 7RX, UK
| | - Andrew Whalen
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, UK
| | - Kevin N Laland
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, UK
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Bridging the Gap Between Cross-Taxon and Within-Species Analyses of Behavioral Innovations in Birds. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2016.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
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