1
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Inzani E, Kelley L, Thomas R, Boogert NJ. Early-life diet does not affect preference for fish in herring gulls ( Larus argentatus). PeerJ 2024; 12:e17565. [PMID: 39006022 PMCID: PMC11246621 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Urban populations of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) are increasing and causing human-wildlife conflict by exploiting anthropogenic resources. Gulls that breed in urban areas rely on varying amounts of terrestrial anthropogenic foods (e.g., domestic refuse, agricultural and commercial waste) to feed themselves. However, with the onset of hatching, many parent gulls switch to sourcing more marine than anthropogenic or terrestrial foods to provision their chicks. Although anthropogenic foods may meet chick calorific requirements for growth and development, some such foods (e.g., bread) may have lower levels of protein and other key nutrients compared to marine foods. However, whether this parental switch in chick diet is driven by chicks' preference for marine foods, or whether chicks' food preferences are shaped by the food types provisioned by their parents, remains untested. This study tests whether chick food preferences can be influenced by their provisioned diet by experimentally manipulating the ratio of time for which anthropogenic and marine foods were available (80:20 and vice versa) in the rearing diets of two treatment groups of rescued herring gull chicks. Each diet was randomly assigned to each of the 27 captive-reared chicks for the duration of the study. We tested chicks' individual food preferences throughout their development in captivity using food arrays with four food choices (fish, cat food, mussels and brown bread). Regardless of the dietary treatment group, we found that all chicks preferred fish and almost all refused to eat most of the bread offered. Our findings suggest that early-life diet, manipulated by the ratio of time the different foods were available, did not influence gull chicks' food preferences. Instead, chicks developed a strong and persistent preference for marine foods, which appears to match adult gulls' dietary switch to marine foods upon chick hatching and may reinforce the provisioning of marine foods during chick development. However, whether chicks in the wild would refuse provisioned foods, and to a sufficient extent to influence parental provisioning, requires further study. Longitudinal studies of urban animal populations that track wild individuals' food preferences and foraging specialisations throughout life are required to shed light on the development and use of anthropogenic resource exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Inzani
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Kelley
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Thomas
- Organisms and Environment Division, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Neeltje J. Boogert
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom
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2
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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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3
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Rautio IV, Holmberg EH, Kurup D, Dunn BA, Whitlock JR. A novel paradigm for observational learning in rats. Cogn Neurodyn 2024; 18:757-767. [PMID: 38699625 PMCID: PMC11061086 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-023-10022-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability to learn by observing the behavior of others is energy efficient and brings high survival value, making it an important learning tool that has been documented in a myriad of species in the animal kingdom. In the laboratory, rodents have proven useful models for studying different forms of observational learning, however, the most robust learning paradigms typically rely on aversive stimuli, like foot shocks, to drive the social acquisition of fear. Non-fear-based tasks have also been used but they rarely succeed in having observer animals perform a new behavior de novo. Consequently, little known regarding the cellular mechanisms supporting non-aversive types of learning, such as visuomotor skill acquisition. To address this we developed a reward-based observational learning paradigm in adult rats, in which observer animals learn to tap lit spheres in a specific sequence by watching skilled demonstrators, with successful trials leading to rewarding intracranial stimulation in both observers and performers. Following three days of observation and a 24-hour delay, observer animals outperformed control animals on several metrics of task performance and efficiency, with a subset of observers demonstrating correct performance immediately when tested. This paradigm thus introduces a novel tool to investigate the neural circuits supporting observational learning and memory for visuomotor behavior, a phenomenon about which little is understood, particularly in rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida V. Rautio
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Olav Kyrresg gate 9, Trondheim, 7089 Norway
| | - Ella Holt Holmberg
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Olav Kyrresg gate 9, Trondheim, 7089 Norway
| | - Devika Kurup
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Olav Kyrresg gate 9, Trondheim, 7089 Norway
| | - Benjamin A. Dunn
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Olav Kyrresg gate 9, Trondheim, 7089 Norway
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Alfred Getz vei 1, Trondheim, 7491 Norway
| | - Jonathan R. Whitlock
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Olav Kyrresg gate 9, Trondheim, 7089 Norway
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4
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Jo H, McCune KB, Jablonski PG, Lee SI. Long-term memory of experienced jays facilitates problem-solving by naïve group members in the wild. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21593. [PMID: 38062030 PMCID: PMC10703848 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46666-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Long-term memory affects animal fitness, especially in social species. In these species, the memory of group members facilitates the acquisition of novel foraging skills through social learning when naïve individuals observe and imitate the successful foraging behavior. Long-term memory and social learning also provide the framework for cultural behavior, a trait found in humans but very few other animal species. In birds, little is known about the duration of long-term memories for complex foraging skills, or the impact of long-term memory on group members. We tested whether wild jays remembered a complex foraging task more than 3 years after their initial experience and quantified the effect of this memory on naïve jay behavior. Experienced jays remembered how to solve the task and their behavior had significant positive effects on interactions by naïve group members at the task. This suggests that natural selection may favor long-term memory of solutions to foraging problems to facilitate the persistence of foraging skills that are specifically useful in the local environment in social birds with long lifespans and overlapping generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyein Jo
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Kelsey B McCune
- Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
- College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
| | - Piotr G Jablonski
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Sang-Im Lee
- Laboratory of Integrative Animal Ecology, Department of New Biology, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, South Korea.
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5
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Steinberg DL, Lynch JW, Cartmill EA. A robust tool kit: First report of tool use in captive crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus). Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23428. [PMID: 35942577 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23428] [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: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Primate tool use is of great interest but has been reported only in a limited number of species. Here we report tool use in crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus), an almost completely unstudied robust capuchin species. Crested capuchins and their sister species, the yellow-breasted capuchin, diverged from a common ancestor over 2 million years ago, so this study fills a significant gap in understanding of tool use capacity and variation within the robust capuchin monkey radiation. Our study group was a captive population of seven individuals at the Santa Ana Zoo in California. The monkeys were given no prior training, and they were provided with a variety of enrichment items, including materials that could be used as tools as well as hard-to-access resources, for open-ended interactions. In 54 observation hours, monkeys performed eleven tool use actions: digging, hammering, probing, raking, sponging, striking, sweeping, throwing, waving, wedging, and wiping. We observed tool modification, serial tool use, and social learning opportunities, including monkeys' direct observation of tool use and tolerated scrounging of foods obtained through tool use. We also observed significant individual skew in tool use frequency, with one individual using tools daily, and two individuals never using tools during the study. While crested capuchins have never been reported to use tools in the wild, our findings provide evidence for the species' capacity and propensity for tool use, highlighting the urgent need for research on this understudied, endangered primate. By providing detailed data on clearly identified S. robustus individuals, this study marks an effort to counteract the overgeneralization in the captive literature in referring to any robust capuchins of unknown provenance or ancestry as Cebus apella, a practice that obfuscates potential differences among species in tool use performance and repertoire in one of the only species-rich tool-using genera in the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle L Steinberg
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jessica W Lynch
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Division of Life Sciences, Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Erica A Cartmill
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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6
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Mack C, Uomini N. Modulation of behavioural laterality in wild New Caledonian crows ( Corvus moneduloides): Vocalization, age and function. Laterality 2022; 27:379-405. [PMID: 35833319 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2022.2098969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) is known for displaying a unique set of tool-related behaviours, with the bird's bill acting as an individually consistently lateralized effector. However, we still fail to understand how such laterality develops, is modulated or even if its expression is consistent across other behavioural categories. Creating the first ethogram for this species allowed us to examine laterality and vocalisations in a population of wild, free-flying New Caledonian crows using detailed analyses of close-up video footage. We revealed the existence of an overall strong left-sided bias during object manipulation only and which was driven by the adult crows of our focal population, the stabilization of individual preferences occurring during the birds' juvenile years. Individually, at least one crow showed consistent side biases to the right and left within different behavioural categories. Our findings highlight previously unknown variability in behavioural laterality in this species, thus advocating for further investigation. Specifically, we argue that a better understanding of the New Caledonian crow's biology and ecology is required if one wishes to pursue the promising comparative road that laterality could be connected to the evolution of tool-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyrielle Mack
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Natalie Uomini
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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7
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Cram DL, van der Wal JEM, Uomini N, Cantor M, Afan AI, Attwood MC, Amphaeris J, Balasani F, Blair CJ, Bronstein JL, Buanachique IO, Cuthill RRT, Das J, Daura‐Jorge FG, Deb A, Dixit T, Dlamini GS, Dounias E, Gedi II, Gruber M, Hoffmann LS, Holzlehner T, Isack HA, Laltaika EA, Lloyd‐Jones DJ, Lund J, Machado AMS, Mahadevan L, Moreno IB, Nwaogu CJ, Pierotti R, Rucunua SA, dos Santos WF, Serpa N, Smith BD, Sridhar H, Tolkova I, Tun T, Valle‐Pereira JVS, Wood BM, Wrangham RW, Spottiswoode CN. The ecology and evolution of human‐wildlife cooperation. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jessica E. M. van der Wal
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Natalie Uomini
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Mauricio Cantor
- Department of Ecology and Zoology Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
- Department of Fisheries Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University Newport Oregon USA
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Centre of Marine Studies Universidade Federal do Paraná Pontal do Paraná Brazil
| | - Anap I. Afan
- A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute University of Jos Jos Nigeria
| | | | - Jenny Amphaeris
- School of Arts Culture and Language, Bangor University Bangor UK
| | | | - Cameron J. Blair
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Judith L. Bronstein
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
| | | | - Rion R. T. Cuthill
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Jewel Das
- Institute of Marine Sciences University of Chittagong Chittagong Bangladesh
| | - Fábio G. Daura‐Jorge
- Department of Ecology and Zoology Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
| | - Apurba Deb
- Department of Environment, Climate and Parks Government of Manitoba Manitoba Canada
| | - Tanmay Dixit
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | | | - Edmond Dounias
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD Montpellier France
| | | | - Martin Gruber
- Department of Anthropology and Cultural Research University of Bremen Bremen Germany
| | - Lilian S. Hoffmann
- Cytogenetics and Evolution Lab Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Tobias Holzlehner
- Seminar für Ethnologie Martin‐Luther‐University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle Germany
| | | | - Eliupendo A. Laltaika
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority Ngorongoro Tanzania
| | - David J. Lloyd‐Jones
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Jess Lund
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Alexandre M. S. Machado
- Department of Ecology and Zoology Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
| | - L. Mahadevan
- Department of Physics Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | - Ignacio B. Moreno
- Centro de Estudos Costeiros Limnológicos e Marinhos, Campus Litoral Norte, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Imbé Brazil
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia Animal Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Chima J. Nwaogu
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Raymond Pierotti
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Kansas Lawrence Kansas USA
| | | | | | - Nathalia Serpa
- Centro de Estudos Costeiros Limnológicos e Marinhos, Campus Litoral Norte, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Imbé Brazil
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biologia Animal Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | | | - Hari Sridhar
- Independent Researcher Bengaluru Karnataka India
| | - Irina Tolkova
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | | | | | - Brian M. Wood
- Department of Anthropology University of California Los Angeles USA
- Department of Human Behavior Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Richard W. Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts USA
| | - Claire N. Spottiswoode
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Science and Innovation‐National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
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8
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Mikeliban M, Kunz B, Rahmaeti T, Uomini N, Schuppli C. Orangutan mothers adjust their behaviour during food solicitations in a way that likely facilitates feeding skill acquisition in their offspring. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23679. [PMID: 34880303 PMCID: PMC8655057 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02901-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Immature orangutans acquire their feeding skills over several years, via social and independent learning. So far, it has remained uninvestigated to what extent orangutan mothers are actively involved in this learning process. From a fitness point of view, it may be adaptive for mothers to facilitate their offspring’s skill acquisition to make them reach nutritional independence faster. Food solicitations are potential means to social learning which, because of their interactive nature, allow to investigate the degree of active involvement of the mother. To investigate the role of food solicitation and the role of the mother in immatures’ foraging skill acquisition, we analysed 1390 food solicitation events between 21 immature Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) and their mothers, collected over 13 years at the Suaq Balimbing orangutan population. We found that solicitation rates decreased with increasing age of the immatures and increased with increasing processing complexity of the food item. Mothers were more likely to share complex items and showed the highest likelihoods of sharing around the age at which immatures are learning most of their feeding skills. Our results indicate that immature Sumatran orangutans use food solicitation to acquire feeding skills. Furthermore, mothers flexibly adjust their behaviour in a way that likely facilitates their offspring’s skill acquisition. We conclude that orangutan mothers have a more active role in the skill acquisition of their offspring than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mulati Mikeliban
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Belinda Kunz
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tri Rahmaeti
- Department of Biology, Graduate School, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta, 12520, Indonesia
| | - Natalie Uomini
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Caroline Schuppli
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467, Konstanz, Germany. .,Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland.
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9
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De la Fuente MF, Sueur C, Garber PA, Bicca-Marques JC, Souto A, Schiel N. Foraging networks and social tolerance in a cooperatively breeding primate (Callithrix jacchus). J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:138-153. [PMID: 34655252 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Within-group competition over food resources can be a major cost of social living. In the wild, foragers are confronted with social (e.g. hierarchical rank) and ecological (e.g. food availability and distribution) challenges that affect their foraging decisions and feeding success. Exhibiting prosocial behaviours, such as tolerance at feeding sites, can benefit group members by developing affiliative social relationships, enhancing access to resources and maximizing fitness. We examined social tolerance at feeding sites in Callithrix jacchus, a cooperatively breeding primate species. We investigated the set of social (rank, age and sex) and ecological (food availability) factors that influence the structure and dynamics of within-group foraging association networks. We designed and conducted an experimental field study of four wild groups of common marmosets in which we controlled food distribution (concentrated or scattered) and productivity (high, medium or low food rewards). Then, we used social network analyses to assess the number and strength of foraging associations among group members, their effects on individual food consumption, and whether recent experiences with conspecifics during foraging affected subsequent associations. Overall, common marmoset foraging association networks were cohesive, as group members jointly occupied feeding sites. The number and strength of associations varied depending on the ecological context. Associations were stronger during conditions in which food was concentrated at a single site. Individuals obtained greater access to food resources when sharing a feeding site with conspecifics, but once a food item was obtained, the forager moved to a nearby tree and consumed it away from others. Additionally, the strength of previous foraging associations and subsequent levels of social tolerance at feeding sites were positively related, a relationship compatible with the ability of memorizing associations over time and recalling the information in future decision-making. In sum, marmosets adjusted their partner choices and the strength of foraging associations in response to food availability. They exhibited increased social tolerance at feeding sites during conditions in which opportunities for contest competition were expected to be greatest. These cooperative breeding primates appear to mutually benefit by maintaining cohesive and strong affiliative relationships, and by increasing opportunities for coordinated behaviour and offspring survival.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cédric Sueur
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Paul A Garber
- Department of Anthropology, Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Júlio César Bicca-Marques
- Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Antonio Souto
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Nicola Schiel
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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10
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Heersmink R. Varieties of Artifacts: Embodied, Perceptual, Cognitive, and Affective. Top Cogn Sci 2021; 13:573-596. [PMID: 34081417 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The primary goal of this essay is to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of the various relations between material artifacts and the embodied mind. A secondary goal of this essay is to identify some of the trends in the design and use of artifacts. First, based on their functional properties, I identify four categories of artifacts co-opted by the embodied mind, namely (a) embodied artifacts, (b) perceptual artifacts, (c) cognitive artifacts, and (d) affective artifacts. These categories can overlap and so some artifacts are members of more than one category. I also identify some of the techniques (or skills) we use when interacting with artifacts. Identifying these categories of artifacts and techniques allows us to map the landscape of relations between embodied minds and the artifactual world. Second, having identified categories of artifacts and techniques, this essay then outlines some of the trends in the design and use of artifacts, focusing on neuroprosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, and personalization algorithms nudging their users toward particular epistemic paths of information consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Heersmink
- Department Department of Politics, Media & Philosophy, La Trobe University
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11
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Canteloup C, Cera MB, Barrett BJ, van de Waal E. Processing of novel food reveals payoff and rank-biased social learning in a wild primate. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9550. [PMID: 34006940 PMCID: PMC8131368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88857-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning—learning from others—is the basis for behavioural traditions. Different social learning strategies (SLS), where individuals biasedly learn behaviours based on their content or who demonstrates them, may increase an individual’s fitness and generate behavioural traditions. While SLS have been mostly studied in isolation, their interaction and the interplay between individual and social learning is less understood. We performed a field-based open diffusion experiment in a wild primate. We provided two groups of vervet monkeys with a novel food, unshelled peanuts, and documented how three different peanut opening techniques spread within the groups. We analysed data using hierarchical Bayesian dynamic learning models that explore the integration of multiple SLS with individual learning. We (1) report evidence of social learning compared to strictly individual learning, (2) show that vervets preferentially socially learn the technique that yields the highest observed payoff and (3) also bias attention toward individuals of higher rank. This shows that behavioural preferences can arise when individuals integrate social information about the efficiency of a behaviour alongside cues related to the rank of a demonstrator. When these preferences converge to the same behaviour in a group, they may result in stable behavioural traditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Canteloup
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, 3115, South Africa. .,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Mabia B Cera
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, 3115, South Africa
| | - Brendan J Barrett
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology, and Culture, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Erica van de Waal
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, 3115, South Africa.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
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12
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Harvey DP, Black JM. Problem-solving performance in wild Steller’s jays using a string-pulling task. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Animals that exploit resources from human-modified environments may encounter unique problems when searching for food. Pulling a string tied to a food reward (string-pulling task) is one of the most widespread methods of testing a species’ problem-solving performance in non-human animals. Performance in problem-solving tasks may be influenced by an individual’s characteristics and social interactions, especially in its natural habitat. We examined problem solving by free-ranging Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) when extracting food from a string-pulling task presented in their natural habitat. During the study, seven of 50 jays successfully solved the task on their first to eighteenth experimental opportunity; solvers differed from nonsolvers by showing higher levels of persistence by pulling the string in more trials. Of the successful jays, five birds solved without observing others, while two birds were present during successful trials and subsequently completed the task. All seven jays demonstrated improvement in the task by using less string pulls over additional successful trials. Nineteen other jays in the population interacted with the apparatus and pulled the string, but not enough to acquire the food. These 19 jays were significantly bolder (shorter latencies to approach), more explorative (contacted more parts of the apparatus), and had observed solvers more than the 24 individuals that did not pull the string. These results indicate a broad spectrum of individual differences in propensity for solving novel tasks in our population of Steller’s jays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek P. Harvey
- Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
| | - Jeffrey M. Black
- Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
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13
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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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14
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Rutz C, Hunt GR. New Caledonian crows afford invaluable comparative insights into human cumulative technological culture. Behav Brain Sci 2020; 43:e177. [PMID: 32772983 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x20000187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The New Caledonian crow may be the only non-primate species exhibiting cumulative technological culture. Its foraging tools show clear signs of diversification and progressive refinement, and it seems likely that at least some tool-related information is passed across generations via social learning. Here, we explain how these remarkable birds can help us uncover the basic biological processes driving technological progress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St AndrewsKY16 9TH, ://aviantooluse.org
- Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, CambridgeMA02138
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15
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Abstract
I argue that the evolution of our life history, with its distinctively long, protected human childhood, allows an early period of broad hypothesis search and exploration, before the demands of goal-directed exploitation set in. This cognitive profile is also found in other animals and is associated with early behaviours such as neophilia and play. I relate this developmental pattern to computational ideas about explore-exploit trade-offs, search and sampling, and to neuroscience findings. I also present several lines of empirical evidence suggesting that young human learners are highly exploratory, both in terms of their search for external information and their search through hypothesis spaces. In fact, they are sometimes more exploratory than older learners and adults. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Gopnik
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 2121 Berkeley Way, Room 3302, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
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16
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Snell-Rood E, Snell-Rood C. The developmental support hypothesis: adaptive plasticity in neural development in response to cues of social support. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190491. [PMID: 32475336 PMCID: PMC7293157 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Across mammals, cues of developmental support, such as touching, licking or attentiveness, stimulate neural development, behavioural exploration and even overall body growth. Why should such fitness-related traits be so sensitive to developmental conditions? Here, we review what we term the 'developmental support hypothesis', a potential adaptive explanation of this plasticity. Neural development can be a costly process, in terms of time, energy and exposure. However, environmental variability may sometimes compromise parental care during this costly developmental period. We propose this environmental variation has led to the evolution of adaptive plasticity of neural and behavioural development in response to cues of developmental support, where neural development is stimulated in conditions that support associated costs. When parental care is compromised, offspring grow less and adopt a more resilient and stress-responsive strategy, improving their chances of survival in difficult conditions, similar to existing ideas on the adaptive value of early-life programming of stress. The developmental support hypothesis suggests new research directions, such as testing the adaptive value of reduced neural growth and metabolism in stressful conditions, and expanding the range of potential cues animals may attend to as indicators of developmental support. Considering evolutionary and ecologically appropriate cues of social support also has implications for promoting healthy neural development in humans. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Snell-Rood
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Gortner 140, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Claire Snell-Rood
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
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17
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Bräuer J, Hanus D, Pika S, Gray R, Uomini N. Old and New Approaches to Animal Cognition: There Is Not "One Cognition". J Intell 2020; 8:E28. [PMID: 32630788 PMCID: PMC7555673 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence8030028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Using the comparative approach, researchers draw inferences about the evolution of cognition. Psychologists have postulated several hypotheses to explain why certain species are cognitively more flexible than others, and these hypotheses assume that certain cognitive skills are linked together to create a generally "smart" species. However, empirical findings suggest that several animal species are highly specialized, showing exceptional skills in single cognitive domains while performing poorly in others. Although some cognitive skills may indeed overlap, we cannot a priori assume that they do across species. We argue that the term "cognition" has often been used by applying an anthropocentric viewpoint rather than a biocentric one. As a result, researchers tend to overrate cognitive skills that are human-like and assume that certain skills cluster together in other animals as they do in our own species. In this paper, we emphasize that specific physical and social environments create selection pressures that lead to the evolution of certain cognitive adaptations. Skills such as following the pointing gesture, tool-use, perspective-taking, or the ability to cooperate evolve independently from each other as a concrete result of specific selection pressures, and thus have appeared in distantly related species. Thus, there is not "one cognition". Our argument is founded upon traditional Darwinian thinking, which-although always at the forefront of biology-has sometimes been neglected in animal cognition research. In accordance with the biocentric approach, we advocate a broader empirical perspective as we are convinced that to better understand animal minds, comparative researchers should focus much more on questions and experiments that are ecologically valid. We should investigate nonhuman cognition for its own sake, not only in comparison to the human model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Bräuer
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of General Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Am Steiger 3, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Daniel Hanus
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simone Pika
- Institute of Cognitive Science, Comparative BioCognition, University of Osnabrück, Artilleriestrasse 34, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Russell Gray
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Natalie Uomini
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
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18
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Al-Sorori W, Mohsen AM. New Caledonian crow learning algorithm: A new metaheuristic algorithm for solving continuous optimization problems. Appl Soft Comput 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.asoc.2020.106325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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19
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Fields C, Levin M. Scale-Free Biology: Integrating Evolutionary and Developmental Thinking. Bioessays 2020; 42:e1900228. [PMID: 32537770 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201900228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
When the history of life on earth is viewed as a history of cell division, all of life becomes a single cell lineage. The growth and differentiation of this lineage in reciprocal interaction with its environment can be viewed as a developmental process; hence the evolution of life on earth can also be seen as the development of life on earth. Here, in reviewing this field, some potentially fruitful research directions suggested by this change in perspective are highlighted. Variation and selection become, for example, bidirectional information flows between scales, while the notions of "cooperation" and "competition" become scale relative. The language of communication, inference, and information processing becomes more useful than the language of causation to describe the interactions of both homogeneous and heterogeneous living systems at any scale. Emerging scale-free theoretical frameworks such as predictive coding and active inference provide conceptual tools for reconceptualizing biology as the study of a unified, multiscale dynamical system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Fields
- 23 Rue des Lavandieres, 11160 Caunes Minervois, France
| | - Michael Levin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
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20
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Bandini E, Motes-Rodrigo A, Steele MP, Rutz C, Tennie C. Examining the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of animal tool behaviour. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200122. [PMID: 32486940 PMCID: PMC7336849 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite major advances in the study of animal tool behaviour, researchers continue to debate how exactly certain behaviours are acquired. While specific mechanisms, such as genetic predispositions or action copying, are sometimes suspected to play a major role in behavioural acquisition, controlled experiments are required to provide conclusive evidence. In this opinion piece, we refer to classic ethological methodologies to emphasize the need for studying the relative contributions of different factors to the emergence of specific tool behaviours. We describe a methodology, consisting of a carefully staged series of baseline and social-learning conditions, that enables us to tease apart the roles of different mechanisms in the development of behavioural repertoires. Experiments employing our proposed methodology will not only advance our understanding of animal learning and culture, but as a result, will also help inform hypotheses about human cognitive, cultural and technological evolution. More generally, our conceptual framework is suitable for guiding the detailed investigation of other seemingly complex animal behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Bandini
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, The University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72070, Germany
| | - Alba Motes-Rodrigo
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, The University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72070, Germany
| | - Matthew P Steele
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Department for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, The University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72070, Germany
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21
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Uomini N, Fairlie J, Gray RD, Griesser M. Extended parenting and the evolution of cognition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190495. [PMID: 32475334 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional attempts to understand the evolution of human cognition compare humans with other primates. This research showed that relative brain size covaries with cognitive skills, while adaptations that buffer the developmental and energetic costs of large brains (e.g. allomaternal care), and ecological or social benefits of cognitive abilities, are critical for their evolution. To understand the drivers of cognitive adaptations, it is profitable to consider distant lineages with convergently evolved cognitions. Here, we examine the facilitators of cognitive evolution in corvid birds, where some species display cultural learning, with an emphasis on family life. We propose that extended parenting (protracted parent-offspring association) is pivotal in the evolution of cognition: it combines critical life-history, social and ecological conditions allowing for the development and maintenance of cognitive skillsets that confer fitness benefits to individuals. This novel hypothesis complements the extended childhood idea by considering the parents' role in juvenile development. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we show that corvids have larger body sizes, longer development times, extended parenting and larger relative brain sizes than other passerines. Case studies from two corvid species with different ecologies and social systems highlight the critical role of life-history features on juveniles' cognitive development: extended parenting provides a safe haven, access to tolerant role models, reliable learning opportunities and food, resulting in higher survival. The benefits of extended juvenile learning periods, over evolutionary time, lead to selection for expanded cognitive skillsets. Similarly, in our ancestors, cooperative breeding and increased group sizes facilitated learning and teaching. Our analyses highlight the critical role of life-history, ecological and social factors that underlie both extended parenting and expanded cognitive skillsets. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Uomini
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Russell D Gray
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, Jena, Germany.,School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Michael Griesser
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Department of Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People's Republic of China.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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22
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Breen AJ, Lovie KE, Guerard C, Edwards SC, Cooper J, Healy SD, Guillette LM. Juvenile socio-ecological environment shapes material technology in nest-building birds. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Variation in animal material technology, such as tool use and nest construction, is thought to be caused, in part, by differences in the early-life socio-ecological environment—that is, who and what is around—but this developmental hypothesis remains unconfirmed. We used a tightly controlled developmental paradigm to determine whether adult and/or raw-material access in early life shape first-time nest construction in laboratory-bred zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata at sexual maturity. We found that juvenile access to both an unrelated adult and raw material of one color led to a majority preference (75%) by novice builders for this color of material over that for either natal-nest or novel-colored material, whereas a lack of juvenile access to both an unrelated adult and raw material led to a 4- and nearly 3-fold reduction in the speed at which novice builders initiated and completed nest construction, respectively. Contrary to expectation, neither the amount of time juveniles nor their adult groupmate spent handling the raw material appear to drive these early-life effects on zebra finches’ first-time nest construction, suggesting that adult presence might be sufficient to drive the development of animal material technology. Together these data show that the juvenile socio-ecological environment can trigger variation in at least two critical aspects of animal material technology (material preference and construction speed), revealing a potentially powerful developmental window for technological advancement. Thus, to understand selection on animal material technology, the early-life environment must be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis J Breen
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
| | - Keren E Lovie
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
| | - Chloé Guerard
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
- École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Chemin des Capelles, Toulouse, France
| | - Sophie C Edwards
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
| | - Jasmine Cooper
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
| | - Lauren M Guillette
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK
- Department of Psychology, P445 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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23
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Rutz C, Hunt GR, St Clair JJH. Corvid Technologies: How Do New Caledonian Crows Get Their Tool Designs? Curr Biol 2020; 28:R1109-R1111. [PMID: 30253153 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent research shows that New Caledonian crows can incorporate information from researcher-made objects into objects they subsequently manufacture. This 'mental template matching' is one of several possible - mutually compatible - mechanisms for the cultural transmission of tool designs among wild crows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK.
| | | | - James J H St Clair
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
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24
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Social learning in great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus): A preliminary study. Learn Behav 2020; 48:344-350. [DOI: 10.3758/s13420-019-00404-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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25
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Pendergraft LT, Lehnert AL, Marzluff JM. Individual and social factors affecting the ability of American crows to solve and master a string pulling task. Ethology 2019; 126:229-245. [PMID: 33776175 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Crows and other birds in the family Corvidae regularly share information to learn the identity and whereabouts of dangerous predators, but can they use social learning to solve a novel task for a food reward? Here we examined the factors affecting the ability of 27 wild-caught American crows to solve a common string-pulling task in a laboratory setting. We split crows into two groups; one group was given the task after repeatedly observing a conspecific model the solution, the other solved in the absence of conspecific models. We recorded the crows' estimated age, sex, size, body condition, level of nervousness, and brain volume using DICOM images from a CT scan. Although none of these variables were statistically significant, crows without a conspecific model and large brain volumes consistently mastered the task in the minimum number of days, whereas those with conspecific models and smaller brain volumes required varying and sometimes a substantial number of days to master the task. We found indirect evidence that body condition might also be important for motivating crows to solve the task. Crows with conspecific models were no more likely to initially solve the task than those working the puzzle without social information, but those that mastered the task usually copied the method most frequently demonstrated by their knowledgeable neighbors. These findings suggest that brain volume and possibly body condition may be factors in learning new tasks, and that crows can use social learning to refine their ability to obtain a novel food source, although they must initially learn to access it themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - John M Marzluff
- University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
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26
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Canteloup C. Qui copier ? Les stratégies d’apprentissage social chez les animaux. REVUE DE PRIMATOLOGIE 2019. [DOI: 10.4000/primatologie.4326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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27
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Community through Culture: From Insects to Whales. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1900060. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201900060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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28
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Abstract
One source of public information may be the enduring products of others’ behaviour, such as discarded tools or vacated nests. Here, we examined whether observation of a nest affects the material captive zebra finch males prefer when they construct their first nest. It does: for first-time nest construction, males that viewed only an empty cage preferred the colour of material each initially favoured but those males that had observed a pre-built nest of material of their non-preferred colour lost their material-colour preference altogether. Additionally, half of the males that viewed a nest were tested in an environment (the laboratory) different to that in which they were reared (an outdoor aviary). We had expected the aviary-reared (versus laboratory-reared) males would be more uncertain, and thus more likely to select material for their first nest that matched in colour to the colour of the ‘demonstrated’ nest—but this was not the case. The aviary-reared males did, however, tend to touch first the demonstrated colour of material more than did the laboratory-reared males. Together these results show that both observation of a nest and a change in environment can influence the material choices of novice builders. For naïve animal builders, then, construction artefacts can be information resources for learning about potential construction material.
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29
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Jelbert SA, Hosking RJ, Taylor AH, Gray RD. Mental template matching is a potential cultural transmission mechanism for New Caledonian crow tool manufacturing traditions. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8956. [PMID: 29955154 PMCID: PMC6023922 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27405-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative cultural evolution occurs when social traditions accumulate improvements over time. In humans cumulative cultural evolution is thought to depend on a unique suite of cognitive abilities, including teaching, language and imitation. Tool-making New Caledonian crows show some hallmarks of cumulative culture; but this claim is contentious, in part because these birds do not appear to imitate. One alternative hypothesis is that crows’ tool designs could be culturally transmitted through a process of mental template matching. That is, individuals could use or observe conspecifics’ tools, form a mental template of a particular tool design, and then reproduce this in their own manufacture – a process analogous to birdsong learning. Here, we provide the first evidence supporting this hypothesis, by demonstrating that New Caledonian crows have the cognitive capacity for mental template matching. Using a novel manufacture paradigm, crows were first trained to drop paper into a vending machine to retrieve rewards. They later learnt that only items of a particular size (large or small templates) were rewarded. At test, despite being rewarded at random, and with no physical templates present, crows manufactured items that were more similar in size to previously rewarded, than unrewarded, templates. Our results provide the first evidence that this cognitive ability may underpin the transmission of New Caledonian crows’ natural tool designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Jelbert
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK. .,School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.
| | - R J Hosking
- Center for e-Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
| | - A H Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
| | - R D Gray
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.,Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, 07745, Germany.,Research School of the Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, Australia
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30
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Whiting MJ, Xu F, Kar F, Riley JL, Byrne RW, Noble DWA. Evidence for Social Learning in a Family Living Lizard. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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31
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32
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Les fondements cognitifs de la culture et de l’évolution culturelle cumulative : une revue de la littérature. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2017. [DOI: 10.4074/s0003503317003049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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33
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Les fondements cognitifs de la culture et de l’évolution culturelle cumulative : une revue de la littérature. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2017. [DOI: 10.4074/s0003503317000550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Farine D. The dynamics of transmission and the dynamics of networks. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:415-418. [PMID: 28394028 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
A toy example depicted here highlighting the results of a study in this issue of the Journal of Animal Ecology that investigates the impact of network dynamics on potential disease outbreaks. Infections (stars) that spread by contact only (left) reduce the predicted outbreak size compared to situations where individuals can become infected by moving through areas that previously contained infected individuals (right). This is potentially important in species where individuals, or in this case groups, have overlapping ranges (as depicted on the top right). Incorporating network dynamics that maintain information about the ordering of contacts (central blocks; including the ordering of spatial overlap as noted by the arrows that highlight the blue group arriving after the red group in top-right of the figure) is important for capturing how a disease might not have the opportunity to spread to all individuals. By contrast, a static or 'average' network (lower blocks) does not capture any of these dynamics. Interestingly, although static networks generally predict larger outbreak sizes, the authors find that in cases when transmission probability is low, this prediction can switch as a result of changes in the estimated intensity of contacts among individuals. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]. Springer, A., Kappeler, P.M. & Nunn, C.L. (2017) Dynamic vs. static social networks in models of parasite transmission: Predicting Cryptosporidium spread in wild lemurs. Journal of Animal Ecology, 86, 419-433. The spread of disease or information through networks can be affected by several factors. Whether and how these factors are accounted for can fundamentally change the predicted impact of a spreading epidemic. Springer, Kappeler & Nunn () investigate the role of different modes of transmission and network dynamics on the predicted size of a disease outbreak across several groups of Verreaux's sifakas, a group-living species of lemur. While some factors, such as seasonality, led to consistent differences in the structure of social networks, using dynamic vs. static representations of networks generated differences in the predicted outbreak size of an emergent disease. These findings highlight some of the challenges associated with studying disease dynamics in animal populations, and the importance of continuing efforts to develop the network tools needed to study disease spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Farine
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.,Chair of Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz 78457, Konstanz, Germany.,Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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De Oliveira E, Osiurak F, Reynaud E. Les fondements cognitifs de la culture et de l’évolution culturelle cumulative : une revue de la littérature. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2017. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy.173.0351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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Landová E, Hotová Svádová K, Fuchs R, Štys P, Exnerová A. The effect of social learning on avoidance of aposematic prey in juvenile great tits (Parus major). Anim Cogn 2017. [PMID: 28639012 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1106-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Social learning plays an important role in acquiring new foraging skills and food preferences in many bird species but its potential role in learning to avoid aposematic prey has never been studied. We tested the effect of social learning on the acquisition of avoidance of aposematic insect prey (firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus; Heteroptera) in juvenile, hand-reared great tits (Parus major). Behaviour towards aposematic prey was compared between two groups of birds: (1) the observers that were, prior to encounter with firebugs, allowed to watch the experienced conspecific demonstrator repeatedly refuse to attack the prey, and (2) the control birds that lacked this opportunity. Observing an experienced demonstrator was not sufficient for learning complete avoidance, because birds from both groups attacked at least the first firebug they had encountered in avoidance training. However, the opportunity to observe the avoidance behaviour of another bird significantly increased the rate of subsequent individual learning of observers in comparison with control birds. Social learning also decreased mortality of firebugs killed by the birds during the avoidance learning. Socially enhanced learning to avoid aposematic prey might be a mechanism important especially for naive juvenile birds learning from their parents, but it could also enhance learning in adults from their more experienced flock mates. Because social learning of avoidance may also lead to decreased mortality of aposematic prey, its effect should be taken into account in scenarios considering evolution and maintenance of prey warning signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Hotová Svádová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Fuchs
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Štys
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Alice Exnerová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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Abstract
The ability to learn allows organisms to take advantage of dynamic and ephemeral opportunities in their environment. Here we show that learning in belowground entomopathogenic nematodes has cascading multitrophic effects on their hosts, other nematodes, and nematophagous fungal predators. In addition to quantifying these effects, we show that social behavioral plasticity in these belowground parasitoids can amplify signaling by plant defense pathways and results in an almost doubling of insect herbivore infection by entomopathogenic nematodes. Cumulatively, these effects point to the critical role of plant signaling in regulating community structure while suggesting an equally important role for behavioral plasticity in shaping community dynamics.
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How New Caledonian crows solve novel foraging problems and what it means for cumulative culture. Learn Behav 2017; 44:18-28. [PMID: 26276368 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-015-0194-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
New Caledonian crows make and use tools, and tool types vary over geographic landscapes. Social learning may explain the variation in tool design, but it is unknown to what degree social learning accounts for the maintenance of these designs. Indeed, little is known about the mechanisms these crows use to obtain information from others, despite the question's importance in understanding whether tool behavior is transmitted via social, genetic, or environmental means. For social transmission to account for tool-type variation, copying must utilize a mechanism that is action specific (e.g., pushing left vs. right) as well as context specific (e.g., pushing a particular object vs. any object). To determine whether crows can copy a demonstrator's actions as well as the contexts in which they occur, we conducted a diffusion experiment using a novel foraging task. We used a nontool task to eliminate any confounds introduced by individual differences in their prior tool experience. Two groups had demonstrators (trained in isolation on different options of a four-option task, including a two-action option) and one group did not. We found that crows socially learn about context: After observers see a demonstrator interact with the task, they are more likely to interact with the same parts of the task. In contrast, observers did not copy the demonstrator's specific actions. Our results suggest it is unlikely that observing tool-making behavior transmits tool types. We suggest it is possible that tool types are transmitted when crows copy the physical form of the tools they encounter.
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Guillette LM, Scott ACY, Healy SD. Social learning in nest-building birds: a role for familiarity. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20152685. [PMID: 27009230 PMCID: PMC4822453 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 02/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
It is becoming apparent that birds learn from their own experiences of nest building. What is not clear is whether birds can learn from watching conspecifics build. As social learning allows an animal to gain information without engaging in costly trial-and-error learning, first-time builders should exploit the successful habits of experienced builders. We presented first-time nest-building male zebra finches with either a familiar or an unfamiliar conspecific male building with material of a colour the observer did not like. When given the opportunity to build, males that had watched a familiar male build switched their material preference to that used by the familiar male. Males that observed unfamiliar birds did not. Thus, first-time nest builders use social information and copy the nest material choices when demonstrators are familiar but not when they are strangers. The relationships between individuals therefore influence how nest-building expertise is socially transmitted in zebra finches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Guillette
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Alice C Y Scott
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
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40
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Brown MJ, Jones DN. Cautious Crows: Neophobia in Torresian Crows (Corvus orru) Compared with Three Other Corvoids in Suburban Australia. Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Brown
- Environmental Futures Research Institute; Griffith University; Nathan QLD Australia
| | - Darryl N. Jones
- Environmental Futures Research Institute; Griffith University; Nathan QLD Australia
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Auersperg AMI, von Bayern AMI, Weber S, Szabadvari A, Bugnyar T, Kacelnik A. Social transmission of tool use and tool manufacture in Goffin cockatoos (Cacatua goffini). Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:rspb.2014.0972. [PMID: 25185997 PMCID: PMC4173672 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tool use can be inherited, or acquired as an individual innovation or by social transmission. Having previously reported individual innovative tool use and manufacture by a Goffin cockatoo, we used the innovator (Figaro, a male) as a demonstrator to investigate social transmission. Twelve Goffins saw either demonstrations by Figaro, or 'ghost' controls where tools and/or food were manipulated using magnets. Subjects observing demonstrations showed greater tool-related performance than ghost controls, with all three males in this group (but not the three females) acquiring tool-using competence. Two of these three males further acquired tool-manufacturing competence. As the actions of successful observers differed from those of the demonstrator, result emulation rather than high-fidelity imitation is the most plausible transmission mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M I Auersperg
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna 1190, Austria Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - A M I von Bayern
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse 4, Seewiesen 82319, Germany
| | - S Weber
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna 1190, Austria
| | - A Szabadvari
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna 1190, Austria
| | - T Bugnyar
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna 1190, Austria
| | - A Kacelnik
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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Willett DS, Alborn HT, Duncan LW, Stelinski LL. Social Networks of Educated Nematodes. Sci Rep 2015; 5:14388. [PMID: 26404058 PMCID: PMC4585912 DOI: 10.1038/srep14388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Entomopathogenic nematodes are obligate lethal parasitoids of insect larvae that navigate a chemically complex belowground environment while interacting with their insect hosts, plants, and each other. In this environment, prior exposure to volatile compounds appears to prime nematodes in a compound specific manner, increasing preference for volatiles they previously were exposed to and decreasing attraction to other volatiles. In addition, persistence of volatile exposure influences this response. Longer exposure not only increases preference, but also results in longer retention of that preference. These entomopathogenic nematodes display interspecific social behavioral plasticity; experienced nematodes influence the behavior of different species. This interspecific social behavioral plasticity suggests a mechanism for rapid adaptation of belowground communities to dynamic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis S Willett
- University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department, Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, FL, 33850, USA
| | - Hans T Alborn
- Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA
| | - Larry W Duncan
- University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department, Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, FL, 33850, USA
| | - Lukasz L Stelinski
- University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department, Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, FL, 33850, USA
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Ekanayake KB, Weston MA, Dann P, Sutherland DR. Corvids congregate to breeding colonies of a burrow-nesting seabird. AUSTRAL ECOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kasun B. Ekanayake
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Science; Engineering and Built Environment; Deakin University; 221 Burwood Highway Burwood VIC 3125 Australia
| | - Michael A. Weston
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Faculty of Science; Engineering and Built Environment; Deakin University; 221 Burwood Highway Burwood VIC 3125 Australia
| | - Peter Dann
- Research Department; Phillip Island Nature Parks; Cowes VIC 3922 Australia
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Whiten A, Caldwell CA, Mesoudi A. Cultural diffusion in humans and other animals. Curr Opin Psychol 2015; 8:15-21. [PMID: 29506791 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2015] [Revised: 08/14/2015] [Accepted: 09/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent years have seen an enormous expansion and progress in studies of the cultural diffusion processes through which behaviour patterns, ideas and artifacts are transmitted within and between generations of humans and other animals. The first of two main approaches focuses on identifying, tracing and understanding cultural diffusion as it naturally occurs, an essential foundation to any science of culture. This endeavor has been enriched in recent years by sophisticated statistical methods and surprising new discoveries particularly in humans, other primates and cetaceans. This work has been complemented by a growing corpus of powerful, purpose-designed cultural diffusion experiments with captive and natural populations that have facilitated the rigorous identification and analysis of cultural diffusion in species from insects to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - Christine A Caldwell
- Psychology, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Alex Mesoudi
- Human Biological and Cultural Evolution Group, Department of Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Cornwall Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
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Jelbert SA, Singh PJ, Gray RD, Taylor AH. New Caledonian crows rapidly solve a collaborative problem without cooperative cognition. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0133253. [PMID: 26266937 PMCID: PMC4534463 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2014] [Accepted: 06/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing comparative evidence that the cognitive bases of cooperation are not unique to humans. However, the selective pressures that lead to the evolution of these mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that while tool-making New Caledonian crows can produce collaborative behavior, they do not understand the causality of cooperation nor show sensitivity to inequity. Instead, the collaborative behavior produced appears to have been underpinned by the transfer of prior experience. These results suggest that a number of possible selective pressures, including tool manufacture and mobbing behaviours, have not led to the evolution of cooperative cognition in this species. They show that causal cognition can evolve in a domain specific manner–understanding the properties and flexible uses of physical tools does not necessarily enable animals to grasp that a conspecific can be used as a social tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A. Jelbert
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
- * E-mail:
| | - Puja J. Singh
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Russell D. Gray
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Alex H. Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
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46
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Fujii JA, Ralls K, Tinker MT. Ecological drivers of variation in tool-use frequency across sea otter populations. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Abstract
This article reviews some of the recent work on the remarkable cognitive capacities of food-caching corvids. The focus will be on their ability to think about other minds and other times, and tool-using tests of physical problem solving. Research on developmental cognition suggests that young children do not pass similar tests until they are at least four years of age in the case of the social cognition experiments, and eight years of age in the case of the tasks that tap into physical cognition. This developmental trajectory seems surprising. Intuitively, one might have thought that the social and planning tasks required more complex forms of cognitive process, namely Mental Time Travel and Theory of Mind. Perhaps the fact that children pass these tasks earlier than the physical problem-solving tasks is a reflection of cultural influences. Future research will hope to identify these cognitive milestones by starting to develop tasks that might go some way towards understanding the mechanisms underlying these abilities in both children and corvids, to explore similarities and differences in their ways of thinking.
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Miller R, Schiestl M, Whiten A, Schwab C, Bugnyar T. Tolerance and Social Facilitation in the Foraging Behaviour of Free-Ranging Crows ( Corvus corone corone; C. c. cornix). Ethology 2014; 120:1248-1255. [PMID: 25937686 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Social foraging provides animals with opportunities to gain knowledge about available food. Studies indicate that animals are influenced by social context during exploration and are able to learn socially. Carrion and hooded crows, which are opportunistic generalists with flexible social systems, have so far received little focus in this area. We combined observational and experimental approaches to investigate social interactions during foraging and social influences on crow behaviour within a free-ranging population at Vienna Zoo, which included 115 individually marked crows. We expected the crows to be tolerant of conspecifics during foraging due to high food abundance. We predicted that social context would enhance familiar object exploration, as well as a specific foraging strategy: predation by crows on other species. We found that crows were highly tolerant of one another, as reflected by their high rates of cofeeding - where they fed directly beside conspecific(s) - relative to affiliative or agonistic interactions. Evidence for social facilitation - when the observer's behaviour is affected by the mere presence of a model - was found in both object exploration and predation behaviour. Specifically, crows touched the objects more frequently when others were present (whilst only approaching the objects when alone), and conspecifics were present more frequently during predation events involving the high-risk target species. Evidence for enhancement during object exploration - where the observer's attention is drawn to a place or object by a model's actions - was not confirmed in this context. Our results highlight the role played by the presence of conspecifics across different contexts: natural foraging behaviour, familiar object exploration and a specific foraging strategy. To our knowledge, this is one of the first corvid studies aimed at teasing apart specific social influence and learning mechanisms in the field. These crows therefore make promising candidates for studying social learning and its consequences under naturalistic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael Miller
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ; Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK ; Tiergarten Schonbrunn, Vienna, Austria ; Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Martina Schiestl
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ; Tiergarten Schonbrunn, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Christine Schwab
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ; Tiergarten Schonbrunn, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ; Tiergarten Schonbrunn, Vienna, Austria
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49
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Brown R. Rethinking Behavioral Evolution. HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7067-6_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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Innovative behaviour in fish: Atlantic cod can learn to use an external tag to manipulate a self-feeder. Anim Cogn 2013; 17:779-85. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-013-0710-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2013] [Revised: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 11/08/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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