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Lõoke M, Guérineau C, Broseghini A, Mongillo P, Marinelli L. Visual continuum in non-human animals: serial dependence revealed in dogs. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240051. [PMID: 39045690 PMCID: PMC11267470 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0051] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Serial dependence is a recently described phenomenon by which the perceptual evaluation of a stimulus is biased by a previously attended one. By integrating stimuli over time, serial dependence is believed to ensure a stable conscious experience. Despite increasing studies in humans, it is unknown if the process occurs also in other species. Here, we assessed whether serial dependence occurs in dogs. To this aim, dogs were trained on a quantity discrimination task before being presented with a discrimination where one of the discriminanda was preceded by a task-irrelevant stimulus. If dogs are susceptible to serial dependence, the task-irrelevant stimulus was hypothesized to influence the perception of the subsequently presented quantity. Our results revealed that dogs perceived the currently presented quantity to be closer to the one presented briefly before, in accordance with serial dependence. The direction and strength of the effect were comparable to those observed in humans. Data regarding dogs' attention during the task suggest that dogs used two different quantity estimation mechanisms, an indication of a higher cognitive mechanism involved in the process. The present results are the first empirical evidence that serial dependence extends beyond humans, suggesting that the mechanism is shared by phylogenetically distant mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miina Lõoke
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padua, Legnaro, PD35020, Italy
| | - Cécile Guérineau
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padua, Legnaro, PD35020, Italy
| | - Anna Broseghini
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padua, Legnaro, PD35020, Italy
| | - Paolo Mongillo
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padua, Legnaro, PD35020, Italy
| | - Lieta Marinelli
- Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione, University of Padua, Legnaro, PD35020, Italy
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2
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Rivas-Blanco D, Monteiro T, Virányi Z, Range F. Going back to "basics": Harlow's learning set task with wolves and dogs. Learn Behav 2024:10.3758/s13420-024-00631-6. [PMID: 38780876 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-024-00631-6] [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: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
To survive and reproduce, animals need to behave adaptively by adjusting their behavior to their environment, with learning facilitating some of these processes. Dogs have become a go-to model species in comparative cognition studies, making our understanding of their learning skills paramount at multiple levels, not only with regards to basic research on their cognitive skills and the effects of domestication, but also with applied purposes such as training. In order to tackle these issues, we tested similarly raised wolves and dogs in a serial learning task inspired by Harlow's "learning set." In Phase 1, different pairs of objects were presented to the animals, one of which was baited while the other was not. Both species' performance gradually improved with each new set of objects, showing that they "learnt to learn," but no differences were found between the species in their learning speed. In Phase 2, once subjects had learned the association between one of the objects and the food reward, the contingencies were reversed and the previously unrewarded object of the same pair was now rewarded. Dogs' performance in this task seemed to be better than wolves', albeit only when considering just the first session of each reversal, suggesting that the dogs might be more flexible than wolves. Further research (possibly with the aid of refined methods such as computer-based tasks) would help ascertain whether these differences between wolves and dogs are persistent across different learning tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dániel Rivas-Blanco
- Domestication Lab, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- William James Center for Research, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
| | - Tiago Monteiro
- Domestication Lab, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- William James Center for Research, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Zsófia Virányi
- Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Medical University Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Friederike Range
- Domestication Lab, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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3
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Szenczi P, Martínez-Byer S, Chacha J, Hudson R, Bánszegi O. Quantity discrimination by kittens of the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). Anim Cogn 2023:10.1007/s10071-023-01784-z. [PMID: 37179500 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01784-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Quantitative abilities are well described in many species and in diverse life situations, including in the adult domestic cat. However, such abilities have been much less studied during ontogeny. In the present study we examined spontaneous quantity discrimination by pre-weaning age kittens in two-way food choice experiments. In Experiment 1, 26 kittens performed 12 trials with different ratios between the number of same-size food items. In Experiment 2, 24 other kittens performed eight trials with different ratios between the size of two food items. We found, in general, that the kittens discriminated between the different amounts of food and spontaneously chose the larger one, but that their choice was influenced by the ratio of difference. The kittens in Experiment 1 chose the larger number of same-size food items if the ratio was smaller than 0.4 and in Experiment 2 they chose the larger pieces of food if the ratio between the items was smaller than 0.5. Because the kittens' choice was not influenced by the absolute number of food items or the numerical difference between them in Experiment 1, it suggests that their cognitive performance relied on an analog magnitude system rather than on an object file system during the quantity discrimination tasks. We discuss our results considering the ecological and social background of cats and compare it with the performance of previously studied species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter Szenczi
- CONACYT-Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Unidad Psicopatología y Desarrollo, Calz. México-Xochimilco 101, 14370, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Sandra Martínez-Byer
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Edificio A, 1er Piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Jimena Chacha
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Edificio A, 1er Piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Robyn Hudson
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Oxána Bánszegi
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
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4
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The current state of carnivore cognition. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:37-58. [PMID: 36333496 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01709-2] [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: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The field of animal cognition has advanced rapidly in the last 25 years. Through careful and creative studies of animals in captivity and in the wild, we have gained critical insights into the evolution of intelligence, the cognitive capacities of a diverse array of taxa, and the importance of ecological and social environments, as well as individual variation, in the expression of cognitive abilities. The field of animal cognition, however, is still being influenced by some historical tendencies. For example, primates and birds are still the majority of study species in the field of animal cognition. Studies of diverse taxa improve the generalizability of our results, are critical for testing evolutionary hypotheses, and open new paths for understanding cognition in species with vastly different morphologies. In this paper, we review the current state of knowledge of cognition in mammalian carnivores. We discuss the advantages of studying cognition in Carnivorans and the immense progress that has been made across many cognitive domains in both lab and field studies of carnivores. We also discuss the current constraints that are associated with studying carnivores. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in studies of carnivore cognition.
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5
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Cooperation and cognition in wild canids. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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6
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How spontaneous is spontaneous quantity discrimination in companion dogs? Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105534] [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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7
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Lõoke M, Marinelli L, Agrillo C, Guérineau C, Mongillo P. Dogs (canis familiaris) underestimate the quantity of connected items: first demonstration of susceptibility to the connectedness illusion in non-human animals. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23291. [PMID: 34857858 PMCID: PMC8639746 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02791-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans, numerical estimation is affected by perceptual biases, such as those originating from the spatial arrangement of elements. Different animal species can also make relative quantity judgements. This includes dogs, who have been proposed as a good model for comparative neuroscience. However, dogs do not show the same perceptual biases observed in humans. Thus, the exact perceptual/cognitive mechanisms underlying quantity estimations in dogs and their degree of similarity with humans are still a matter of debate. Here we explored whether dogs are susceptible to the connectedness illusion, an illusion based on the tendency to underestimate the quantity of interconnected items. Dogs were first trained to choose the larger of two food arrays. Then, they were presented with two arrays containing the same quantity of food, of which one had items interconnected by lines. Dogs significantly selected the array with unconnected items, suggesting that, like in humans, connectedness determines underestimation biases, possibly disrupting the perceptual system's ability to segment the display into discrete objects. The similarity in dogs' and humans' susceptibility to the connectedness, but not to other numerical illusions, suggests that different mechanisms are involved in the estimation of quantity of stimuli with different characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miina Lõoke
- Laboratory of Applied Ethology, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Lieta Marinelli
- Laboratory of Applied Ethology, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
| | - Christian Agrillo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Padua Neuroscience Centre, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Cécile Guérineau
- Laboratory of Applied Ethology, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Paolo Mongillo
- Laboratory of Applied Ethology, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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8
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Sun W, Li B, Ma C. Rhesus Monkeys Have a Counting Ability and Can Count from One to Six. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11081011. [PMID: 34439630 PMCID: PMC8394657 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11081011] [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: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Counting ability is one of the many aspects of animal cognition and has enjoyed great interest over the last couple of decades. The impetus for studying counting ability in nonhuman animals has likely come from more than a general interest in animal cognition, as the analysis of animal abilities amplifies our understanding of human cognition. In addition, a model animal with the ability to count could be used to replace human subjects in related studies. Here we designed a behavioral paradigm to train rhesus monkeys to count 1-to-6 visual patterns presented sequentially with long and irregular interpattern intervals on a touch screen. The monkeys were required to make a response to the sixth pattern exclusively, inhibiting response to any patterns appearing at other ordinal positions. All stimulus patterns were of the same size, color, location, and shape to prevent monkeys making the right choice due to non-number physical cues. In the long delay period, the monkey had to enumerate how many patterns had been presented sequentially and had to remember in which ordinal position the current pattern was located. Otherwise, it was impossible for them to know which pattern was the target one. The results show that all three monkeys learned to correctly choose the sixth pattern within 3 months. This study provides convincing behavioral evidence that rhesus monkeys may have the capacity to count.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiming Sun
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Institute of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; (W.S.); (B.L.)
- School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Baoming Li
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Institute of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; (W.S.); (B.L.)
- School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Chaolin Ma
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Institute of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; (W.S.); (B.L.)
- School of Life Science, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
- Correspondence:
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9
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MaBouDi H, Barron AB, Li S, Honkanen M, Loukola OJ, Peng F, Li W, Marshall JAR, Cope A, Vasilaki E, Solvi C. Non-numerical strategies used by bees to solve numerical cognition tasks. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202711. [PMID: 33593192 PMCID: PMC7934903 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined how bees solve a visual discrimination task with stimuli commonly used in numerical cognition studies. Bees performed well on the task, but additional tests showed that they had learned continuous (non-numerical) cues. A network model using biologically plausible visual feature filtering and a simple associative rule was capable of learning the task using only continuous cues inherent in the training stimuli, with no numerical processing. This model was also able to reproduce behaviours that have been considered in other studies indicative of numerical cognition. Our results support the idea that a sense of magnitude may be more primitive and basic than a sense of number. Our findings highlight how problematic inadvertent continuous cues can be for studies of numerical cognition. This remains a deep issue within the field that requires increased vigilance and cleverness from the experimenter. We suggest ways of better assessing numerical cognition in non-speaking animals, including assessing the use of all alternative cues in one test, using cross-modal cues, analysing behavioural responses to detect underlying strategies, and finding the neural substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- HaDi MaBouDi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK
| | - Andrew B Barron
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK.,Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Sun Li
- Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Maria Honkanen
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Olli J Loukola
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Fei Peng
- Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenfeng Li
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Science, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - James A R Marshall
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK
| | - Alex Cope
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK
| | - Eleni Vasilaki
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK
| | - Cwyn Solvi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia.,School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
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10
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Do Domestic Dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris) Perceive Numerosity Illusions? Animals (Basel) 2020; 10:ani10122304. [PMID: 33291842 PMCID: PMC7762053 DOI: 10.3390/ani10122304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Studying visual illusions in animals allows researchers to reveal similarities and differences between how human and non-human species perceive the world around them. Recently, investigations into dogs have found evidence for the differential perception of visual illusions, when compared with human observers. Here, we extended this line of investigation by testing dogs’ susceptibility to numerosity illusions. This type of illusion occurs when an individual under- or overestimates the number of objects presented in a visual scene owing to the spatial arrangement of the objects. In the current study, we observed the spontaneous likelihood for dogs to approach a larger quantity of food items. In Experiment 1, we first established whether dogs would try to maximize their food intake within the experimental context. Following this, Experiments 2 and 3 presented food items arranged so as to generate a well-known numerosity illusion—the Solitaire illusion. Overall, dogs were able to select the larger quantity of food (Experiment 1), but did not exhibit any evidence of a numerosity misperception in Experiments 2 and 3. Our results reinforce the idea that dogs’ representation of the world differs significantly from ours. Abstract Recent studies have showed that domestic dogs are only scantly susceptible to visual illusions, suggesting that the perceptual mechanisms might be different in humans and dogs. However, to date, none of these studies have utilized illusions that are linked to quantity discrimination. In the current study, we tested whether dogs are susceptible to a linear version of the Solitaire illusion, a robust numerosity illusion experienced by most humans. In the first experiment, we tested dogs’ ability to discriminate items in a 0.67 and 0.75 numerical ratio. The results showed that dogs’ quantity discrimination abilities fall in between these two ratios. In Experiment 2, we presented the dogs with the Solitaire illusion pattern using a spontaneous procedure. No evidence supporting any numerosity misperception was found. This conclusion was replicated in Experiment 3, where we manipulated dogs’ initial experience with the stimuli and their contrast with the background. The lack of dogs’ susceptibility to the Solitaire illusion suggests that numerical estimation of dogs is not influenced by the spatial arrangement of the items to be enumerated. In view of the existing evidence, the effect may be extended to dogs’ quantitative abilities at large.
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Caicoya AL, Colell M, Holland R, Ensenyat C, Amici F. Giraffes go for more: a quantity discrimination study in giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis). Anim Cogn 2020; 24:483-495. [PMID: 33128196 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01442-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Many species, including humans, rely on an ability to differentiate between quantities to make decisions about social relationships, territories, and food. This study is the first to investigate whether giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) are able to select the larger of two sets of quantities in different conditions, and how size and density affect these decisions. In Task 1, we presented five captive giraffes with two sets containing a different quantity of identical foods items. In Tasks 2 and 3, we also modified the size and density of the food reward distribution. The results showed that giraffes (i) can successfully make quantity judgments following Weber's law, (ii) can reliably rely on size to maximize their food income, and (iii) are more successful when comparing sparser than denser distributions. More studies on different taxa are needed to understand whether specific selective pressures have favored the evolution of these skills in certain taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro L Caicoya
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Montserrat Colell
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Federica Amici
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Research Group "Primate Behavioural Ecology", Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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