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Sokolowski MBC, Bottet G, Dacher M. Measuring honey bee feeding rhythms with the BeeBox, a platform for nectar foraging insects. Physiol Behav 2024; 283:114598. [PMID: 38821143 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114598] [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: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
In honey bees, most studies of circadian rhythms involve a locomotion test performed in a small tube, a tunnel, or at the hive entrance. However, despite feeding playing an important role in honey bee health or fitness, no demonstration of circadian rhythm on feeding has been performed until recently. Here, we present the BeeBox, a new laboratory platform for bees based on the concept of the Skinner box, which dispenses discrete controlled amounts of food (sucrose syrup) following entrance into an artificial flower. We compared caged groups of bees in 12 h-12 h light/dark cycles, constant darkness and constant light and measured average hourly syrup consumption per living bee. Food intake was higher in constant light and lower in constant darkness; mortality increased in constant light. We observed rhythmic consumption with a period longer than 24 h; this is maintained in darkness without environmental cues, but is damped in the constant light condition. The BeeBox offers many new research perspectives and numerous potential applications in the study of nectar foraging animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Guillaume Bottet
- Université de Picardie - Jules Verne, 1, rue des Louvels, 80000 Amiens, France
| | - Matthieu Dacher
- Sorbonne Université, INRAE, Université Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, IRD - Institute for Ecology and Environnemental Sciences of Paris, iEES Paris, 78026, Versailles, France
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2
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Moreyra S, Lozada M. Spatial configuration learning in
Vespula germanica
forager wasps. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Moreyra
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB) Bariloche Argentina
| | - Mariana Lozada
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB) Bariloche Argentina
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3
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Croteau-Chonka EC, Clayton MS, Venkatasubramanian L, Harris SN, Jones BMW, Narayan L, Winding M, Masson JB, Zlatic M, Klein KT. High-throughput automated methods for classical and operant conditioning of Drosophila larvae. eLife 2022; 11:70015. [PMID: 36305588 PMCID: PMC9678368 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning which stimuli (classical conditioning) or which actions (operant conditioning) predict rewards or punishments can improve chances of survival. However, the circuit mechanisms that underlie distinct types of associative learning are still not fully understood. Automated, high-throughput paradigms for studying different types of associative learning, combined with manipulation of specific neurons in freely behaving animals, can help advance this field. The Drosophila melanogaster larva is a tractable model system for studying the circuit basis of behaviour, but many forms of associative learning have not yet been demonstrated in this animal. Here, we developed a high-throughput (i.e. multi-larva) training system that combines real-time behaviour detection of freely moving larvae with targeted opto- and thermogenetic stimulation of tracked animals. Both stimuli are controlled in either open- or closed-loop, and delivered with high temporal and spatial precision. Using this tracker, we show for the first time that Drosophila larvae can perform classical conditioning with no overlap between sensory stimuli (i.e. trace conditioning). We also demonstrate that larvae are capable of operant conditioning by inducing a bend direction preference through optogenetic activation of reward-encoding serotonergic neurons. Our results extend the known associative learning capacities of Drosophila larvae. Our automated training rig will facilitate the study of many different forms of associative learning and the identification of the neural circuits that underpin them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise C Croteau-Chonka
- Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom,Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | | | | | | | | | - Lakshmi Narayan
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Michael Winding
- Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom,Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Jean-Baptiste Masson
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States,Decision and Bayesian Computation, Neuroscience Department & Computational Biology Department, Institut PasteurParisFrance
| | - Marta Zlatic
- Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom,Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States,MRC Laboratory of Molecular BiologyCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Kristina T Klein
- Department of Zoology, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom,Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
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4
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Bennett MS. What Behavioral Abilities Emerged at Key Milestones in Human Brain Evolution? 13 Hypotheses on the 600-Million-Year Phylogenetic History of Human Intelligence. Front Psychol 2021; 12:685853. [PMID: 34393912 PMCID: PMC8358274 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper presents 13 hypotheses regarding the specific behavioral abilities that emerged at key milestones during the 600-million-year phylogenetic history from early bilaterians to extant humans. The behavioral, intellectual, and cognitive faculties of humans are complex and varied: we have abilities as diverse as map-based navigation, theory of mind, counterfactual learning, episodic memory, and language. But these faculties, which emerge from the complex human brain, are likely to have evolved from simpler prototypes in the simpler brains of our ancestors. Understanding the order in which behavioral abilities evolved can shed light on how and why our brains evolved. To propose these hypotheses, I review the available data from comparative psychology and evolutionary neuroscience.
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5
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Moreyra S, Lozada M. Spatial memory in Vespula germanica wasps: A pilot study using a Y-maze assay. Behav Processes 2021; 189:104439. [PMID: 34087348 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
In the present study we analysed spatial learning in Vespula germanica wasps when dealing with a walking Y-maze. We recorded the time taken to leave the maze during two consecutive visits and which of the two short arms was chosen to exit. Two treatments were conducted to evaluate whether wasps learned to leave the Y-maze guided either by spatial or visual cues. In Treatment 1, the colour of both arms remained unchanged between two consecutive visits; and in Treatment 2, the position of the coloured arm was switched after the first trial. Our results demonstrated that the time taken to exit the maze on the second trial was less than half in both treatments and wasps left the maze from the previously chosen arm, irrespective of its colour. This is the first study to demonstrate spatial learning in V. germanica wasps by using a walking Y-maze. Free flying wasps learned to enter the Y-maze on their own volition, walk through it, collect food and find their way out more rapidly after a single foraging experience. The current experimental device is suitable for the evaluation of spatial memory processes and exploratory behaviour in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Moreyra
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA) - CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB), Quintral, 1250 (8400), Bariloche, Argentina
| | - Mariana Lozada
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA) - CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB), Quintral, 1250 (8400), Bariloche, Argentina.
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6
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Schnell AK, Clayton NS. Cephalopods: Ambassadors for rethinking cognition. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 564:27-36. [PMID: 33390247 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.12.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Traditional approaches in comparative cognition have a long history of focusing on a narrow range of vertebrate species. However, in recent years the range of model species has expanded. Despite this development, invertebrate taxa are still largely neglected in comparative cognition, which limits our ability to locate the origins of cognitive traits. The time has come to rethink cognition and develop a more comprehensive understanding of cognitive evolution by expanding comparative analyses to include a diverse range of invertebrate taxa. In this review, we contend that cephalopods are suitable ambassadors for rethinking cognition. Cephalopods have large complex brains, exhibit sophisticated behavioral traits, and increasing evidence suggests that they possess complex cognitive abilities once thought to be unique to large-brained vertebrates. Comparing cephalopods with vertebrates, whose cognition has evolved independently, provides prominent opportunities to circumvent current limitations in comparative cognition that have arisen from traditional vertebrate comparisons. Increased efforts in investigating the cognitive abilities of cephalopods have also led to important welfare-related improvements. These large-brained molluscs are paving the way for a more inclusive approach to investigating cognitive evolution that we hope will extend to other invertebrate taxa.
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Varnon CA, Dinges CW, Vest AJ, Abramson CI. Conspecific and interspecific stimuli reduce initial performance in an aversive learning task in honey bees (Apis mellifera). PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228161. [PMID: 32097420 PMCID: PMC7041878 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether honey bees (Apis mellifera) are able to use social discriminative stimuli in a spatial aversive conditioning paradigm. We tested bees' ability to avoid shock in a shuttle box apparatus across multiple groups when either shock, or the absence of shock, was associated with a live hive mate, a dead hive mate, a live Polistes exclamans wasp or a dead wasp. Additionally, we used several control groups common to bee shuttle box research where shock was only associated with spatial cues, or where shock was associated with a blue or yellow color. While bees were able to learn the aversive task in a simple spatial discrimination, the presence of any other stimuli (color, another bee, or a wasp) reduced initial performance. While the color biases we discovered are in line with other experiments, the finding that the presence of another animal reduces performance is novel. Generally, it appears that the use of bees or wasps as stimuli initially causes an increase in overall activity that interferes with early performance in the spatial task. During the course of the experiment, the bees habituate to the insect stimuli (bee or wasp), and begin learning the aversive task. Additionally, we found that experimental subject bees did not discriminate between bees or wasps used as stimulus animals, nor did they discriminate between live or dead stimulus animals. This may occur, in part, due to the specialized nature of the worker honey bee. Results are discussed with implications for continual research on honey bees as models of aversive learning, as well as research on insect social learning in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A. Varnon
- Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Ecology, Department of Psychology, Converse College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Christopher W. Dinges
- Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | - Adam J. Vest
- Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | - Charles I. Abramson
- Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
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Honey bees (Apis mellifera spp.) respond to increased aluminum exposure in their foraging choice, motility, and circadian rhythmicity. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218365. [PMID: 31246964 PMCID: PMC6597069 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Aluminum is increasingly globally bioavailable with acidification from industrial emissions and poor mining practices. This bioavailability increases uptake by flora, contaminating products such as fruit, pollen, and nectar. Concentrations of aluminum in fruit and pollen have been reported between 0.05 and 670mg/L in North America. This is particularly concerning for pollinators that ingest pollen and nectar. Honey bees represent a globally present species experiencing decline in Europe and North America. Region specific decline may be a result of differential toxicity of exposure between subspecies. We find that European honey bees (Apis mellifera mellifera) may have differential toxicity as compared to two allopatric Mediterranean subspecies (Apis mellifera carnica and Apis mellifera caucasica) which showed no within subspecies exposure differences. European honey bees were then used in a laboratory experiment and exposed to aluminum in their daily water supply to mimic nectar contamination at several concentrations. After approximately 3 weeks of aluminum ingestion these bees showed significantly shorter captive longevity than controls at concentrations as low as 10.4mg/L and showed a possible hormetic response in motility. We also compared European honey bees to Africanized/European hybrid bees (Apis mellifera mellifera/scutellata hybrid) in short-term free-flight experiments. Neither the European honey bee nor the hybrid showed immediate foraging deficits in flight time, color choice, or floral manipulation after aluminum exposure. We conclude that European honey bees are at the greatest risk of aluminum related decline from chronic ingestion as compared to other subspecies and offer new methods for future use in honey bee toxicology.
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Abramson CI, Wells H. An Inconvenient Truth: Some Neglected Issues in Invertebrate Learning. Perspect Behav Sci 2018; 41:395-416. [PMID: 31976402 PMCID: PMC6701716 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-018-00178-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The burgeoning field of invertebrate behavior is moving into what was the realm of human psychology concepts. This invites comparative studies not only between invertebrate and vertebrate species but also among the diverse taxa within the invertebrates, diverse even when considering only the insects. In order to make lasting progress two issues must be addressed. The first is inconsistent use of fundamental terms defining learning. The second is a focus on similarities, giving little attention to dissimilarities. In addition, much work is needed on whether behavioral similarities are grounded in the same neuronal architecture when considering disparate phyla. These concerns identify are "inconvenient truths" that weaken comparative behavioral analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles I. Abramson
- Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Oklahoma State University, 116 N. Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078 USA
| | - Harrington Wells
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74021 USA
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10
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Gallo V, Chittka L. Cognitive Aspects of Comb-Building in the Honeybee? Front Psychol 2018; 9:900. [PMID: 29951014 PMCID: PMC6008556 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The wax-made comb of the honeybee is a masterpiece of animal architecture. The highly regular, double-sided hexagonal structure is a near-optimal solution to storing food and housing larvae, economizing on building materials and space. Elaborate though they may seem, such animal constructions are often viewed as the result of 'just instinct,' governed by inflexible, pre-programmed, innate behavior routines. An inspection of the literature on honeybee comb construction, however, reveals a different picture. Workers have to learn, at least in part, certain elements of the technique, and there is considerable flexibility in terms of how the shape of the comb and its gradual manufacture is tailored to the circumstances, especially the available space. Moreover, we explore the 2-century old and now largely forgotten work by François Huber, where glass screens were placed between an expanding comb construction and the intended target wall. Bees took corrective action before reaching the glass obstacle, and altered the ongoing construction so as to reach the nearest wooden wall. Though further experiments will be necessary, these results suggest a form of spatial planning skills. We discuss these findings in the context of what is now known about insect cognition, and ask if it is possible that the production of hexagonal wax combs is the result of behavioral heuristics where a complex structure emerges as the result of simple behavioral rules applied by each individual, or whether prospective cognition might be involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Gallo
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lars Chittka
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin, Germany
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11
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Masry A, Clarke AR, Cunningham JP. Learning Influences Host Versus Nonhost Discrimination and Postalighting Searching Behavior in the Tephritid Fruit Fly Parasitoid Diachasmimorpha kraussii (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 111:787-794. [PMID: 29490053 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toy033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Compared with the extensive body of research on the olfactory behavior of parasitoids of leaf-feeding insects, less is known about the fine-tuning of olfactory behavior in parasitoids that use fruit-feeding insects as hosts. We investigated whether a tephritid fruit fly parasitoid, Diachasmimorpha kraussii (Fullaway) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), could discriminate between odors of fruits infested by larvae of a host species, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), compared to fruits infested by non-host larvae, Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Female wasps showed a significant preference for nectarines infested with B. tryoni, over uninfested fruits or fruits infested with D. melanogaster. When wasps were given prior experience of host or nonhost infested fruit, females demonstrated an increased ability to discriminate between host and nonhost related odors, but only when they were conditioned on host-infested (as opposed to nonhost infested) fruit. Insects provided with both host and nonhost stimuli showed no greater discriminatory learning compared to those provided with the rewarding stimuli alone. Previous experience also influenced postalighting behavior. Naïve females, and females with experience ovipositing at the top of fruit, oriented preferentially to the top of fruits upon alighting, while those with experience ovipositing at the base of fruits showed a significant difference in orientation, with 70% of wasps orientating preferentially toward the base. Similar learning-related changes were seen in search time and probing behavior. We discuss how pre- and post-alighting learning fine-tunes the behavioral responses of foraging wasps to their local environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayad Masry
- School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Anthony R Clarke
- School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - J Paul Cunningham
- Agriculture Victoria Research, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
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Loukola OJ, Solvi C, Coscos L, Chittka L. Bumblebees show cognitive flexibility by
improving on an observed complex behavior. Science 2017; 355:833-836. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aag2360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Revised: 12/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
We explored bees’ behavioral flexibility
in a task that required transporting a small ball
to a defined location to gain a reward. Bees were
pretrained to know the correct location of the
ball. Subsequently, to obtain a reward, bees had
to move a displaced ball to the defined location.
Bees that observed demonstration of the technique
from a live or model demonstrator learned the task
more efficiently than did bees observing a “ghost”
demonstration (ball moved via magnet) or without
demonstration. Instead of copying demonstrators
moving balls over long distances, observers solved
the task more efficiently, using the ball
positioned closest to the target, even if it was
of a different color than the one previously
observed. Such unprecedented cognitive flexibility
hints that entirely novel behaviors could emerge
relatively swiftly in species whose lifestyle
demands advanced learning abilities, should
relevant ecological pressures arise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olli J. Loukola
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Cwyn Solvi
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Louie Coscos
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Lars Chittka
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren A. Richardson
- Public Library of Science, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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