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Caicoya AL, Schaffer A, Holland R, von Fersen L, Colell M, Amici F. Innovation across 13 ungulate species: problem solvers are less integrated in the social group and less neophobic. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222384. [PMID: 37015274 PMCID: PMC10072937 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2384] [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: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Innovation is the ability to solve new problems or find novel solutions to familiar problems, and it is known to provide animals with crucial fitness benefits. Although this ability has been extensively studied in some taxa, the factors that predict innovation within and across species are still largely unclear. In this study, we used a novel foraging task to test 111 individuals belonging to 13 ungulate species-a still understudied taxon. To solve the task, individuals had to open transparent and opaque cups with food rewards, by removing their cover. We assessed whether individual factors (neophobia, social integration, sex, age, rank) and socio-ecological factors (dietary breadth, fission-fusion dynamics, domestication, group size) predicted participation and performance in the task. Using a phylogenetic approach, we showed that success was higher for less neophobic and socially less integrated individuals. Moreover, less neophobic individuals, individuals of domesticated species and having higher fission-fusion dynamics were more likely to participate in the task. These results are in line with recent literature suggesting a central role of sociality and personality traits to successfully deal with novel challenges, and confirm ungulates as a promising taxon to test evolutionary theories with a comparative approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro L. Caicoya
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, 08021 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alina Schaffer
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Zoo Leipzig, 04015 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruben Holland
- Research Group Human Biology and Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lorenzo von Fersen
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Montserrat Colell
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, 08021 Barcelona, Spain
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Federica Amici
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Nuremberg Zoo, 90480 Nuremberg, Germany
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2
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Innovative problem-solving in a small, wild canid. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:405-413. [PMID: 35994141 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01678-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Innovation - the ability to solve problems in a novel way - is not only associated with cognitive abilities and relative brain size, but also by noncognitive traits, such as personality and motivation. We used a novel foraging task with three access options to determine how neophobia, exploration, and persistence influence innovation in 12 habituated bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) in the Kalahari Desert. Bat-eared foxes offer a unique system to understand cognition as they have the smallest relative brain size of measured canids and a specialized, termite-based diet, yet have displayed foraging innovations. Interestingly, most of our individuals solved the task at least once and six individuals solved the task in every trial. Neophobia did not influence success on the first trial, but both exploration and persistence influenced success across all trials. Those individuals that solved the puzzle over multiple trials became faster over time, suggesting that they learned how to open the box more efficiently. We found some variation in the method to open the puzzle box with six individuals solving the puzzle using two methods and one individual using all three methods. This is the first study to show innovation in a novel foraging task in wild bat-eared foxes.
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3
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Miller R, Garcia-Pelegrin E, Danby E. Neophobia and innovation in Critically Endangered Bali myna, Leucopsar rothschildi. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211781. [PMID: 35875473 PMCID: PMC9297014 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Behavioural flexibility can impact on adaptability and survival, particularly in today's changing world, and encompasses associated components like neophobia, e.g. responses to novelty, and innovation, e.g. problem-solving. Bali myna (Leucopsar rothschildi) are a Critically Endangered endemic species, which are a focus of active conservation efforts, including reintroductions. Gathering behavioural data can aid in improving and developing conservation strategies, like pre-release training and individual selection for release. In 22 captive Bali myna, we tested neophobia (novel object, novel food, control conditions), innovation (bark, cup, lid conditions) and individual repeatability of latency responses in both experiments. We found effects of condition and presence of heterospecifics, including longer latencies to touch familiar food in presence than absence of novel items, and between problem-solving tasks, as well as in the presence of non-competing heterospecifics than competing heterospecifics. Age influenced neophobia, with adults showing longer latencies than juveniles. Individuals were repeatable in latency responses: (1) temporally in both experiments; (2) contextually within the innovation experiment and between experiments, as well as being consistent in approach order across experiments, suggesting stable behaviour traits. These findings are an important starting point for developing conservation behaviour related strategies in Bali myna and other similarly threatened species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael Miller
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Elias Garcia-Pelegrin
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Emily Danby
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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4
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Vincze E, Kovács B. Urbanization’s Effects on Problem Solving Abilities: A Meta-Analysis. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.834436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive abilities are often assumed to be advantageous in urban habitats, but relatively few studies tested this assumption. In a meta-analysis, we tested whether urban animals have better problem-solving abilities compared to their less urbanized conspecifics. After screening 210 papers we collected by keyword search and forward search, we found 12 studies that compared the ability to solve food-extraction or obstacle-removal problems between urban and non-urban populations of the same animal species. These studies were published between 2009 and 2021, and were performed mostly on birds, whereas a quarter of them used mammals as study species. We found a statistically non-significant trend that urban animals are more successful and faster problem-solvers compared to their less urbanized conspecifics. However, both solving success and solving latency effect sizes were highly heterogeneous, therefore hard to generalize. Though the sample was too low to test the factors explaining this high heterogeneity, we suggest that it may be explained by variation in task types, study species, definitions of urbanization, whether the study was performed on captive or free-living animals, geographical location, or publication bias in both directions. Altogether, more studies are needed to either confirm or disprove this trend.
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5
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van der Marel A, O’Connell CL, Prasher S, Carminito C, Francis X, Hobson EA. A comparison of low‐cost behavioral observation software applications for handheld computers and recommendations for use. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire L. O’Connell
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio45221USA
| | - Sanjay Prasher
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio45221USA
| | - Chelsea Carminito
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio45221USA
| | - Xavier Francis
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio45221USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio45221USA
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6
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Can we build a neuroecology of innovativeness similar to that pioneered by David Sherry for spatial memory? Learn Behav 2021; 50:37-44. [PMID: 34761365 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-021-00493-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
David Sherry's pioneering work on the neuroecology of spatial memory has three characteristics that could inspire studies on other cognitive processes: it was grounded in a robust prior literature in psychology and neuroscience; it identified several natural history contexts in which repeated independent evolution of spatial memory differences had occurred in different clades; it involved a precise cognitive ability with a precise neural substrate. We discuss the application of these three principles to a more domain-general trait-innovation. We argue that targeting the caudolateral nidopallium and its connected areas, favoring problem-solving over reversal learning as an experimental assay, and focusing on situations that involve environmental change, such as urbanization and invasion, can help the study of innovation progress, like the field of spatial memory has since 1989.
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7
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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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8
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Seasonal changes in problem-solving in wild African striped mice. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:401-413. [PMID: 34591197 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01559-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Innovative problem-solving ability is a predictor of whether animals can successfully cope with environmental changes. These environmental changes can test the limits of animals, for example when energy availability decreases seasonally and, hence, problem-solving performance decreases because less energy is available for cognitive processes. Here, we investigated: (1) how problem-solving performance changed between seasons that differed significantly in food availability; (2) whether these changes were related to environmentally induced physiological changes in blood glucose and ketone levels, indicators of energy availability; and (3) whether individual variation in problem-solving was related to sex differences. We studied 99 free-ranging African striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, in the Succulent Karoo, South Africa, 55 during the hot dry summer with low food availability and 44 during the cold wet winter with higher food availability. We measured their problem-solving abilities using a food extraction task and found no seasonal differences in problem-solving success. However, mice solved the problem faster in summer versus winter. In summer, food availability was reduced and blood ketones increased but there was no seasonal difference in blood glucose levels. There were no correlation between problem-solving performance and blood glucose or ketone levels. Overall, more males solved the task than females. It appears that in striped mice cognitive functions can be maintained under harsh environmental conditions.
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9
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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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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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11
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Johnson-Ulrich L, Yirga G, Strong RL, Holekamp KE. The effect of urbanization on innovation in spotted hyenas. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:1027-1038. [PMID: 33687598 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01494-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Urbanization represents a dramatic form of evolutionary novelty in the landscapes inhabited by many extant animals. The Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis suggests that innovation, the process by which animals solve novel problems or use novel behaviors, may be key for many animals when adapting to novel environments. If innovation is especially beneficial in urban environments, then we would expect urban animals to be more innovative than their non-urban counterparts. However, studies comparing innovative problem-solving between urban and rural habitats have produced mixed results. Here, we hypothesized that these findings result from comparing only two levels of urbanization when related research suggests that the stage of invasion of urban habitats likely has a strong effect on demand for innovation, with demand being highest during early establishment in a novel environment. To test this hypothesis, we assessed innovation in three locations where spotted hyenas experienced varying degrees of urbanization. Spotted hyenas are relatively innovative compared to other carnivores and, although many large carnivores in Africa are endangered, spotted hyenas remain abundant both inside and outside protected areas. We measured innovation with a multi-access puzzle box with four different doors through which hyenas could obtain a food reward. We predicted that hyenas in a transitional, rapidly urbanizing habitat would be more innovative, measured by the number of unique doors opened, than those in rural or fully urban habitats. Contrary to our predictions, hyenas in the rural habitat were the most innovative. These results challenge the idea that the evolutionary novelty associated with urbanization favors greater innovativeness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Johnson-Ulrich
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, Rm 203, Natural Sciences Bldg, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA. .,Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, & Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA. .,Mara Hyena Project, Michigan State University, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Talek, Kenya.
| | - Gidey Yirga
- Department of Biology, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mek'ele, Ethiopia.,Theoretical and Applied Biodiversity Research, Ruhr Universität Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Robyn L Strong
- Mara Hyena Project, Michigan State University, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Talek, Kenya
| | - Kay E Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, Rm 203, Natural Sciences Bldg, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA.,Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, & Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.,Mara Hyena Project, Michigan State University, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Talek, Kenya
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12
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Chow PKY, Clayton NS, Steele MA. Cognitive Performance of Wild Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Rural and Urban, Native, and Non-native Environments. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.615899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Enhanced cognitive ability has been shown to impart fitness advantages to some species by facilitating establishment in new environments. However, the cause of such enhancement remains enigmatic. Enhanced cognitive ability may be an adaptation occurring during the establishment process in response to new environments or, alternatively, such ‘enhancement’ may merely reflect a species’ characteristic. Based on previous findings that have shown ‘enhanced’ cognitive ability (i.e., higher success rate in solving novel food-extraction problems or, ‘innovation’) in Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), a successful mammalian invader and urban dweller, we used an intraspecific comparative paradigm to examine the cause of their ‘enhanced’ cognitive ability. We conducted a field study to compare cognitive performance of free-ranging squirrels residing in rural and urban habitats in native (United States) and non-native environments (United Kingdom). By using established tasks, we examined squirrels’ performance in easy and difficult, novel food-extraction problems (innovation), a motor memory recall test of the difficult problem, and a spatial learning task. We found that the four groups of squirrels showed comparable performance in most measures. However, we also found that the native urban squirrels showed: (1) higher success rate on the first visit for the difficult problem than the non-native urban squirrels; (2) some evidence for higher recall latency for the difficult problem after an extended period than the non-native rural squirrels; and (3) learning when encountering the same difficult problem. These results suggest that the previously reported ‘enhanced’ performance is likely to be a general characteristic and thus, a pre-adaptive phenotypic trait that brings fitness advantages to this species in a new environment. Despite this, some cognitive abilities in gray squirrels such as solving novel problems has undergone mild variation during the adaptive process in new environments.
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Vrbanec L, Matijević V, Guenther A. Enhanced problem-solving ability as an adaptation to urban environments in house mice. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202504. [PMID: 33593181 PMCID: PMC7934975 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have a large impact on the distribution and abundance of animal species worldwide. The ecological effects of human-altered environments are being increasingly recognized and understood, but their effects on evolution are largely unknown. Enhanced cognitive abilities and the ability to innovate have been suggested as crucial traits for thriving in human-altered habitats. We tested if house mice (Mus musculus) subspecies have evolved enhanced innovative problem-solving abilities throughout their commensal lives with humans. The time that subspecies lived commensally with humans ranges between approximately 3000 years to more than 11 000 years, thus providing an excellent example of human-animal coexistence. In addition, we tested whether differences in problem-solving were mediated by differences in object and place exploration, motivation, persistence or inhibitory control. We found that populations of subspecies living commensally the longest excelled in problem-solving across seven food-extraction tasks over subspecies living commensally short or intermediate times. These differences were not mediated by exploration, motivation, persistence or inhibitory control suggesting that subspecies have evolved better cognitive abilities when living commensally in urban environments. This suggests that the ability to problem-solve may be an important trait promoting prosperity in human-altered environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Vrbanec
- Research Group Behavioural Ecology of Individual Differences, Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Vanja Matijević
- Research Group Behavioural Ecology of Individual Differences, Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Anja Guenther
- Research Group Behavioural Ecology of Individual Differences, Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
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14
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Mazza V, Guenther A. City mice and country mice: innovative problem solving in rural and urban noncommensal rodents. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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15
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Rochais C, Pillay N, Schradin C. Do alternative reproductive tactics predict problem-solving performance in African striped mice? Anim Cogn 2021; 24:703-716. [PMID: 33420858 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01459-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In changing environments, animals face unexpected problems to solve. Not all individuals in a population are equally able to solve new problems. It still remains unclear what factors (e.g. age and body condition) influence the propensity of problem solving. We investigated variation in problem-solving performance among males following alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs). We studied a free-ranging population of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio). Adult male striped mice can employ 3 ARTs: (1) dominant group-living breeders, (2) philopatric living in their natal group, and (3) solitary-living roamers. ARTs in male striped mice reflect differences in competitiveness, sociality and physiology which could influence their problem-solving performance. We tested a total of 48 males in 2 years with two tasks: a string-pulling task to reach food and a door-opening task to reach the nest. Since male striped mice differ in personality traits independent of ARTs, we also measured activity, boldness and exploration. In addition, we assessed the association of body condition and age with problem solving. Problem solving was related the interaction of age and ARTs. The younger philopatrics had better performance in a food-extraction task whereas the older breeders were faster at solving the door-opening task. Individual differences in traits related to personality were significant correlates of problem-solving performance: pro-active mice (i.e. more active and explorative and bolder) performed better in both tasks. Finally, problem-solving performance was not consistent between the two tasks. Our study provides evidence of correlates of ARTs, age and personality on problem-solving abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine Rochais
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Neville Pillay
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carsten Schradin
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,IPHC, UNISTRA, CNRS, 23 Rue du Loess, 67200, Strasbourg, France
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16
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Grunst AS, Grunst ML, Pinxten R, Eens M. Sources of individual variation in problem-solving performance in urban great tits (Parus major): Exploring effects of metal pollution, urban disturbance and personality. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 749:141436. [PMID: 32841856 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Despite growing research effort, we have a limited understanding of how urban disturbance factors affect cognitive traits, such as innovative problem-solving. We performed an initial assessment of how metal pollution and urbanization levels on territories are related to problem-solving performance in urban great tits (Parus major), by presenting an obstacle removal test at nest boxes in three urban nest box populations that are exposed to different levels of metal pollution. We predicted that problem-solving capacity might be reduced within the most polluted population due to pollution-related neurological impairments. On the other hand, we predicted that problem-solving might positively correlate with urban disturbance levels on territories, because some past research suggests that problem-solving promotes persistence in urbanized habitats. We also assessed relationships between exploratory personality type, behavioral patterns during tests, and problem-solving performance, and examined the repeatability and fitness correlates of problem-solving. We found no evidence that behavioral patterns or problem-solving performance were related to metal exposure or exploratory personality, or that problem-solving promotes reproductive success. However, birds on territories exposed to more urban disturbance, as quantified by proximity to paths and roads, were more likely to problem-solve. Moreover, an aggressive problem-solving approach negatively predicted problem-solving success, and behavioral patterns during tests and problem-solving success were repeatable. Thus, rather than indicating negative effects of pollution or urban disturbance on problem-solving performance, our study provides preliminary support for the hypothesis that urbanization favors innovative problem-solving, and suggests that problem-solving could be associated with a personality dimension independent of exploratory personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Melissa L Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Faculty of Social Sciences, Didactica Research Group, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
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