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Smirnova AA, Bulgakova LR, Cheplakova MA, Jelbert SA. Hooded crows (Corvus cornix) manufacture objects relative to a mental template. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:36. [PMID: 38683398 PMCID: PMC11058793 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01874-6] [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: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
It was recently found that not only tool-specialized New Caledonian crows, but also Goffin cockatoos can manufacture physical objects in accordance with a mental template. That is, they can emulate features of existing objects when they manufacture new items. Both species spontaneously ripped pieces of card into large strips if they had previously learned that a large template was rewarded, and small strips when they previously learned that a small template was rewarded. Among New Caledonian crows, this cognitive ability was suggested as a potential mechanism underlying the transmission of natural tool designs. Here, we tested for the same ability in another non-specialised tool user-Hooded crows (Corvus cornix). Crows were exposed to pre-made template objects, varying first in colour and then in size, and were rewarded only if they chose pre-made objects that matched the template. In subsequent tests, birds were given the opportunity to manufacture versions of these objects. All three crows ripped paper pieces from the same colour material as the rewarded template, and, crucially, also manufactured objects that were more similar in size to previously rewarded, than unrewarded, templates, despite the birds being rewarded at random in both tests. Therefore, we found the ability to manufacture physical objects relative to a mental template in yet another bird species not specialized in using or making foraging tools in the wild, but with a high level of brain and cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna A Smirnova
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninsky Gory, 1, 12, Moscow, 119899, Russia.
| | - Leia R Bulgakova
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninsky Gory, 1, 12, Moscow, 119899, Russia
| | - Maria A Cheplakova
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninsky Gory, 1, 12, Moscow, 119899, Russia
| | - Sarah A Jelbert
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK
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2
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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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3
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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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4
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Laumer IB, Massen JJM, Boehm PM, Boehm A, Geisler A, Auersperg AMI. Individual Goffin´s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) show flexible targeted helping in a tool transfer task. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0253416. [PMID: 34185776 PMCID: PMC8241052 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexible targeted helping is considered an advanced form of prosocial behavior in hominoids, as it requires the actor to assess different situations that a conspecific may be in, and to subsequently flexibly satisfy different needs of that partner depending on the nature of those situations. So far, apart from humans such behaviour has only been experimentally shown in chimpanzees and in Eurasian jays. Recent studies highlight the prosocial tendencies of several bird species, yet flexible targeted helping remained untested, largely due to methodological issues as such tasks are generally designed around tool-use, and very few bird species are capable of tool-use. Here, we tested Goffin's cockatoos, which proved to be skilled tool innovators in captivity, in a tool transfer task in which an actor had access to four different objects/tools and a partner to one of two different apparatuses that each required one of these tools to retrieve a reward. As expected from this species, we recorded playful object transfers across all conditions. Yet, importantly and similar to apes, three out of eight birds transferred the correct tool more often in the test condition than in a condition that also featured an apparatus but no partner. Furthermore, one of these birds transferred that correct tool first more often before transferring any other object in the test condition than in the no-partner condition, while the other two cockatoos were marginally non-significantly more likely to do so. Additionally, there was no difference in the likelihood of the correct tool being transferred first for either of the two apparatuses, suggesting that these birds flexibly adjusted what to transfer based on their partner´s need. Future studies should focus on explanations for the intra-specific variation of this behaviour, and should test other parrots and other large-brained birds to see how this can be generalized across the class and to investigate the evolutionary history of this trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- I. B. Laumer
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - J. J. M. Massen
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - P. M. Boehm
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - A. Boehm
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - A. Geisler
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - A. M. I. Auersperg
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
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5
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Abstract
Goffin’s cockatoos, a parrot species endemic to the Tanimbar Islands in Indonesia, demonstrate remarkable cognitive skills across various technical tasks. These neophilic extractive foragers explore objects with their beak and feet, and are skilled in several modes of tool use. In this study, we confronted the animals for the first time with a vertical string-pulling setup, including a set of classic and novel controls. Nine of the 12 subjects, two of which were subadults, immediately interacted with the single-string task, with seven individuals successfully obtaining the reward on their very first attempt. Four different double string discrimination tests with varying spatial relations were used to assess the Goffin’s cockatoos’ apprehension of basic physical task properties. We found significant differences in performance between the respective experimental conditions, as well as the development of side biases. The results suggest that while the birds seem to consider simple cause–effect relationships, there is no evidence for a mental representation of the causal mechanisms underlying the string-pulling tasks, as subjects failed the crossed strings condition out of immediate sight. Finally, we provide suggestions on improving the methodology, and discuss our findings in regard to the Goffin’s cockatoo’s ecology.
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Laumer IB, Jelbert SA, Taylor AH, Rössler T, Auersperg AMI. Object manufacture based on a memorized template: Goffin's cockatoos attend to different model features. Anim Cogn 2020; 24:457-470. [PMID: 33113033 PMCID: PMC8128754 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01435-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Although several nonhuman animals have the ability to recognize and match templates in computerized tasks, we know little about their ability to recall and then physically manufacture specific features of mental templates. Across three experiments, Goffin cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana), a species that can use tools in captivity, were exposed to two pre-made template objects, varying in either colour, size (long or short) or shape (I or L-shaped), where only one template was rewarded. Birds were then given the opportunity to manufacture versions of these objects themselves. We found that all birds carved paper strips from the same colour material as the rewarded template, and half were also able to match the size of a template (long and short). This occurred despite the template being absent at test and birds being rewarded at random. However, we found no evidence that cockatoos could carve L-shaped pieces after learning that L-shaped templates were rewarded, though their manufactured strips were wider than in previous tests. Overall, our results show that Goffin cockatoos possess the ability to physically adjust at least the size dimension of manufactured objects relative to a mental template. This ability has previously only been shown in New Caledonian crows, where template matching was suggested as a potential mechanism allowing for the cumulative cultural transmission of tool designs. Our results show that within avian tool users, the ability to recreate a physical template from memory does not seem to be restricted to species that have cumulative tool cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- I B Laumer
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, Vienna, 1090, Austria.
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, 375 Portola Plaza, 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - S A Jelbert
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK
| | - A H Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - T Rössler
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine (other partner institutions: University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna), Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - A M I Auersperg
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine (other partner institutions: University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna), Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
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Gruber R, Schiestl M, Boeckle M, Frohnwieser A, Miller R, Gray RD, Clayton NS, Taylor AH. New Caledonian Crows Use Mental Representations to Solve Metatool Problems. Curr Biol 2019; 29:686-692.e3. [PMID: 30744978 PMCID: PMC6384166 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
One of the mysteries of animal problem-solving is the extent to which animals mentally represent problems in their minds. Humans can imagine both the solution to a problem and the stages along the way [1, 2, 3], such as when we plan one or two moves ahead in chess. The extent to which other animals can do the same is far less clear [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25]. Here, we presented New Caledonian crows with a series of metatool problems where each stage was out of sight of the others and the crows had to avoid either a distractor apparatus containing a non-functional tool or a non-functional apparatus containing a functional tool. Crows were able to mentally represent the sub-goals and goals of metatool problems: crows kept in mind the location and identities of out-of-sight tools and apparatuses while planning and performing a sequence of tool behaviors. This provides the first conclusive evidence that birds can plan several moves ahead while using tools. Crows solved metatool problems where each stage was out of sight of the others Crows avoided distractor apparatuses during problem-solving This shows crows mentally represent the goals and sub-goals of metatool problems Crows can preplan three behaviors into the future while using tools
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Affiliation(s)
- Romana Gruber
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
| | - Martina Schiestl
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 2, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Markus Boeckle
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK; Department of Psychotherapy, Bertha von Suttner University, Matthias-Corvinus-Straße 15, 3100 St. Pölten, Austria
| | - Anna Frohnwieser
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Rachael Miller
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Russell D Gray
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 2, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Alex H Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
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8
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Beinhauer I, Bugnyar T, Auersperg A. Prospective but not retrospective tool selection in the Goffin’s cockatoo (Cacatua goffiniana). BEHAVIOUR 2019. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The ability to select the necessary means for a familiar task while the task itself or the respective tools are out of sight suggests a rudimentary form of planning. Here we investigated if and how a non-specialized tool using bird, the Goffin’s cockatoo, can prospectively or retrospectively select the functional tool in a decision-making task featuring two different types of apparatuses and their corresponding tools. Each apparatus could only be employed with one specific type of tool. Either the apparatus was presented and occluded prior to the presentation of the tools (prospective condition) or the tools were presented and occluded prior to the presentation of the apparatus (retrospective condition). Our results suggest the birds can prospectively but not retrospectively select the correct tool, paralleling previous research in tool using apes, and indicate at least simple forms of prospective selection in the tool use of a species distantly related to primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- I. Beinhauer
- aDepartment of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - T. Bugnyar
- aDepartment of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - A.M.I. Auersperg
- bUnit of Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna. Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria
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Abstract
Nonhuman tool use is no longer questioned; the issues now are whether such use is mostly inflexible and innately specified or involves experience, innovation, adaptation, and cognitive planning, and how many species qualify. Habl and Auersperg (PLoS One, 12(11):e0186859, 2017) have shown that some Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) respond in novel ways to a tool-use task that nonhuman primates and young children find somewhat challenging.
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10
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Lockman JJ, Fears NE, Jung WP. The Development of Object Fitting: The Dynamics of Spatial Coordination. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2018; 55:31-72. [PMID: 30031438 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2018.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Fitting objects into apertures is an adaptive skill that is incorporated into the design of many tools. We match or align shapes with openings when we insert keys into locks, when we put lids atop containers, or when we align a screwdriver with the groove of a screw. Traditionally, the development of object fitting has focused on children's abilities to successfully complete shape sorter tasks (e.g., square peg through square hole). By measuring children's success in these tasks, investigators have determined that there is substantial development during the second year, but little research has addressed the processes children employ to solve object fitting challenges during this time period. Here, we provide a process based account of object fitting, which emphasizes how children coordinate information about spatial structure with action. We suggest that a process-based approach can illuminate the real-time dynamics of perceiving, acting, and thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey J Lockman
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Nicholas E Fears
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Wendy P Jung
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
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