1
|
Torres Ortiz S, Smeele SQ, Champenois J, von Bayern AMP. Memory for own actions in parrots. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20561. [PMID: 36446997 PMCID: PMC9709151 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25199-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to recall one's past actions is a crucial prerequisite for mental self-representation and episodic memory. We studied whether blue-throated macaws, a social macaw species, can remember their previous actions. The parrots were trained to repeat four previously learned actions upon command. Test sessions included repeat trials, double repeat trials and trials without repeat intermixed to test if the parrots repeated correctly, only when requested and not relying on a representation of the last behavioral command. Following their success, the parrots also received sessions with increasing time delays preceding the repeat command and successfully mastered 12-15 s delays. The parrots successfully transferred the repeat command spontaneously at first trial to three newly trained behaviors they had never repeated before, and also succeeded in a second trial intermixed with already trained actions (untrained repeat tests). This corroborates that successful repeating is not just an artifact of intense training but that blue-throated macaws can transfer the abstract "repeat rule" to untrained action. It also implies that an important aspect of self-representation has evolved in this avian group and might be adaptive, which is consistent with the complex socio-ecological environment of parrots and previous demonstrations of their complex cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Torres Ortiz
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in Foundation, Seewiesen Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Starnberg, Germany ,Max-Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundación, Av. Loro Parque, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife Spain
| | - Simeon Q. Smeele
- grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XMax Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell Am Bodensee, Germany ,grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany ,grid.9811.10000 0001 0658 7699Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Juliette Champenois
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in Foundation, Seewiesen Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Starnberg, Germany ,Max-Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundación, Av. Loro Parque, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife Spain
| | - Auguste M. P. von Bayern
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in Foundation, Seewiesen Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Starnberg, Germany ,Max-Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundación, Av. Loro Parque, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Danel S, Rebout N, von Bayern AMP, Osiurak F. Complex nests but no use of tools: An investigation of problem solving in weaverbirds (Ploceidae). Behav Processes 2021; 192:104493. [PMID: 34487830 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Few avian species use tools in the wild. Yet, several birds build nests of great complexity and many aspects of tool use may also apply to nest building. It has long been hypothesised that tool use may select for specialised cognitive adaptations or even general cognitive skills. This might similarly pertain to species that build complex nests. In this study, we investigated the problem-solving capacity of a complex nest builder, a weaverbird species, in a foraging context that either required or did not require the use of tools. First, we tested the capacity of yellow-crowned bishops (Euplectes afer ssp. afer) to use a tool for retrieving an out-of-reach reward during three problem-solving tasks offering different nest/non-nest materials (Experiment 1). Next, subjects were confronted with two problem-solving tasks that required no tools (Experiment 2). No subject was able to use a tool in Experiment 1. However, 11 out of 12 subjects succeeded in using their beak in the first problem-solving task, and 9 in the second problem-solving task of Experiment 2. These results suggest that weaverbirds showed flexible problem-solving if the use of tools was not required.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samara Danel
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK; Laboratory for the Study of Cognitive Mechanisms, University of Lyon, Bron Rhône-Alpes, 69500, France.
| | - Nancy Rebout
- FaunaStats, 16 Avenue de l'Europe, Immeuble, SXB1, 67300, Schiltigheim, France
| | | | - François Osiurak
- Laboratory for the Study of Cognitive Mechanisms, University of Lyon, Bron Rhône-Alpes, 69500, France; University Institute of France, Paris Ile-de-France, 75005, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Krasheninnikova A, Chow PKY, von Bayern AMP. Comparative cognition: Practical shortcomings and some potential ways forward. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 74:160-169. [PMID: 33090845 DOI: 10.1037/cep0000204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The objectives in the field of comparative cognition are clear; efforts are devoted to revealing the selection pressures that shape the brains and cognitive abilities of different species and understanding cognitive processes in differently structured brains. However, our progress on reaching these objectives is slow, mostly because of several major practical challenges. In this review, we discuss 2 major shortcomings: (a) the poor systematics and low magnitude of the phylogenetic comparisons made, and (b) the weak comparability of the results caused by interfering species-specific confounding factors (perceptual, motivational, and morphological) alongside an insufficient level of standardisation of the methodologies. We propose a multiple-level comparative approach that emphasises the importance of achieving more direct comparisons within taxonomic groups at genus or family level as the first step before comparing between distantly related groups. We also encourage increasing interdisciplinary efforts to execute "team-science" approach in building a systematic and direct large-scale phylogenetic comparisons of bigger cognitive test batteries that produce reliable species-representative data. We finally revisit some existing suggestions that allow us to maximise standardisation while minimising species-specific confounding factors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Pizza Ka Yee Chow
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max-PlanckInstitute for Ornithology
| | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
O’Neill L, Linder G, van Buuren M, von Bayern AMP. New Caledonian Crows and Hidden Causal Agents Revisited. AB&C 2021. [DOI: 10.26451/abc.08.02.06.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A previous experiment suggested that New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides; henceforth NCCs) can reason about hidden causal agents (Taylor et al., 2012). In that study, subjects showed greater vigilance towards an area from which they had previously witnessed a threatening “stick attack” if a hidden causal agent (a human) could still be present in that area compared to when a human person had visibly left. Interpretations of these results were challenged in two commentaries (Boogert et al., 2013; Dymond et al., 2013). We aimed to replicate this experiment with a different group of NCCs (N = 14) whilst also adding three additional control groups that addressed the issues raised in the two commentaries. These four experimental groups included a direct replication (n = 4), a counter balance of the events of that replication (n = 4), a control group to see if alternative associative cues would create the same effect (n = 3) and finally, a counterbalanced group of these alternative associative cues (n = 3). The direct replication group did not replicate the effect of Taylor et al. (2012). The fact that we did not replicate the effect meant that further interpretation of our other control groups proved difficult. The low sample size of our replication group meant we could not be sure if we did not replicate the effect due to low power or due to actual differences. Our findings neither support nor refute whether NCCs reason about hidden causal agents.
Collapse
|
5
|
Chow PKY, Uchida K, von Bayern AMP, Koizumi I. Characteristics of urban environments and novel problem-solving performance in Eurasian red squirrels. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202832. [PMID: 33784870 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Urban environments can be deemed 'harsh' for some wildlife species, but individuals frequently show behavioural flexibility to cope with challenges and demands posed by life in the city. For example, urban animals often show better performance in solving novel problems than rural conspecifics, which helps when using novel resources under human-modified environments. However, which characteristics of urban environments fine-tune novel problem-solving performance, and their relative importance, remain unclear. Here, we examined how four urban environmental characteristics (direct human disturbance, indirect human disturbance, size of green coverage and squirrel population size) may potentially influence novel problem-solving performance of a successful 'urban dweller', the Eurasian red squirrel, by presenting them with a novel food-extraction problem. We found that increased direct human disturbance, indirect human disturbance and a higher squirrel population size decreased the proportion of solving success at the population level. At the individual level, an increase in squirrel population size decreased the latency to successfully solve the novel problem the first time. More importantly, increased direct human disturbance, squirrel population size and experience with the novel problem decreased problem-solving time over time. These findings highlight that some urban environmental characteristics shape two phenotypic extremes in the behaviour-flexibility spectrum: individuals either demonstrated enhanced learning or they failed to solve the novel problem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pizza Ka Yee Chow
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Starnberg, Germany.,Division of Biosphere Science, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5 Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan.,Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Kenta Uchida
- Division of Biosphere Science, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5 Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Auguste M P von Bayern
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Starnberg, Germany
| | - Itsuro Koizumi
- Division of Biosphere Science, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5 Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Mioduszewska B, Schleuning X, Brunon A, O’Hara M, Auersperg AMI, Federspiel IG, von Bayern AMP. Task Aspects Triggering Observational Learning in Jackdaws (Corvus monedula). AB&C 2020. [DOI: 10.26451/abc.07.04.08.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex novel tasks are often used in animal cognition research to allow discrimination between various learning mechanisms. Successful performance relies on the capacity to identify informational cues from features in the environment. Additionally, observational learning is often considered more beneficial for survival than individual learning. Despite the importance of controlling task complexity, it can often be challenging to operationalize. This study investigated whether jackdaws, a highly social corvid species, can learn to drop stones inside a tube to release a reward after observing a trained conspecific. Additionally, it aimed to identify the underlying learning mechanisms and to detect the informational cues triggering learning. A research design was developed to highlight different aspects of the required action sequence. Experimental conditions included a conspecific model demonstrating the full sequence, parts of the sequence, consuming the reward without solving the task, and consuming the reward after the solution was demonstrated without a visible model. None of the 12 naïve jackdaws solved the task in pretests. Two subjects started solving in test sessions and they developed modified versions of the demonstrated action. Observing the full action sequence performed by a conspecific seemed to trigger learning. The majority of the subjects exhibited changes in their stone-oriented behavior, most likely due to stimulus and/or local enhancement. As predicted, jackdaws were influenced by conspecific model demonstrations when manipulating a complex novel foraging task. Factors contributing to the apparent task difficulty and directions for future studies are discussed within a tri-dimensional framework including the task, setup, and individuals.
Collapse
|
7
|
Brucks D, von Bayern AMP. Parrots Voluntarily Help Each Other to Obtain Food Rewards. Curr Biol 2020; 30:292-297.e5. [PMID: 31928868 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Helping others to obtain benefits, even at a cost to oneself, poses an evolutionary puzzle [1]. While kin selection explains such "selfless" acts among relatives, only reciprocity (paying back received favors) entails fitness benefits for unrelated individuals [2]. So far, experimental evidence for both prosocial helping (providing voluntary assistance for achieving an action-based goal) and reciprocity has been reported in a few mammals but no avian species [3]. In order to gain insights into the evolutionary origins of these behaviors, the capacity of non-mammalian species for prosociality and for reciprocity needs to be investigated. We tested two parrot species in an instrumental-helping paradigm involving "token transfer." Here, actors could provide tokens to their neighbor, who could exchange them with an experimenter for food. To verify whether the parrots understood the task's contingencies, we systematically varied the presence of a partner and the possibility for exchange. We found that African grey parrots voluntarily and spontaneously transferred tokens to conspecific partners, whereas significantly fewer transfers occurred in the control conditions. Transfers were affected by the strength of the dyads' affiliation and partially by the receivers' attention-getting behaviors. Furthermore, the birds reciprocated the help once the roles were reversed. Blue-headed macaws, in contrast, transferred hardly any tokens. Species differences in social tolerance might explain this discrepancy. These findings show that instrumental helping based on a prosocial attitude, accompanied but potentially not sustained by reciprocity, is present in parrots, suggesting that this capacity evolved convergently in this avian group and mammals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Désirée Brucks
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Str., 82319 Seewiesen, Germany; Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundación, Av. Loro Parque, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain.
| | - Auguste M P von Bayern
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Str., 82319 Seewiesen, Germany; Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundación, Av. Loro Parque, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain; Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Gill LF, van Schaik J, von Bayern AMP, Gahr ML. Genetic monogamy despite frequent extrapair copulations in "strictly monogamous" wild jackdaws. Behav Ecol 2020; 31:247-260. [PMID: 32372855 PMCID: PMC7191249 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Revised: 09/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
"Monogamy" refers to different components of pair exclusiveness: the social pair, sexual partners, and the genetic outcome of sexual encounters. Avian monogamy is usually defined socially or genetically, whereas quantifications of sexual behavior remain scarce. Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) are considered a rare example of strict monogamy in songbirds, with lifelong pair bonds and little genetic evidence for extrapair (EP) offspring. Yet jackdaw copulations, although accompanied by loud copulation calls, are rarely observed because they occur visually concealed inside nest cavities. Using full-day nest-box video surveillance and on-bird acoustic bio-logging, we directly observed jackdaw sexual behavior and compared it to the corresponding genetic outcome obtained via molecular parentage analysis. In the video-observed nests, we found genetic monogamy but frequently detected forced EP sexual behavior, accompanied by characteristic male copulation calls. We, thus, challenge the long-held notion of strict jackdaw monogamy at the sexual level. Our data suggest that male mate guarding and frequent intrapair copulations during the female fertile phase, as well as the forced nature of the copulations, could explain the absence of EP offspring. Because EP copulation behavior appeared to be costly for both sexes, we suggest that immediate fitness benefits are an unlikely explanation for its prevalence. Instead, sexual conflict and dominance effects could interact to shape the spatiotemporal pattern of EP sexual behavior in this species. Our results call for larger-scale investigations of jackdaw sexual behavior and parentage and highlight the importance of combining social, sexual, and genetic data sets for a more complete understanding of mating systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa F Gill
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Jaap van Schaik
- Department of Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Auguste M P von Bayern
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Manfred L Gahr
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, Seewiesen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Krasheninnikova A, Brucks D, Blanc S, von Bayern AMP. Assessing African grey parrots' prosocial tendencies in a token choice paradigm. R Soc Open Sci 2019; 6:190696. [PMID: 31903198 PMCID: PMC6936274 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Prosociality is defined as a voluntary, typically low-cost behaviour that benefits another individual. Social tolerance has been proposed as a potential driver for its evolution, both on the proximate and on the ultimate level. Parrots are an interesting species to study such other-regarding behaviours, given that they are highly social and stand out in terms of relative brain size and cognitive capacity. We tested eight African grey parrots in a dyadic prosocial choice test. They faced a choice between two different tokens, a prosocial (actor and partner rewarded) and a selfish (only actor rewarded) one. We found that the birds did not behave prosocially when one subject remained in the actor role; however, when roles were alternated, the birds' prosocial choices increased. The birds also seemed to reciprocate their partner's choices, given that a contingency between choices was observed. If the food provisioned to the partner was of higher quality than that the actor obtained, actors increased their willingness to provide food to their partner. Nonetheless, the control conditions suggest that the parrots did not fully understand the task's contingencies. In sum, African grey parrots show the potential for prosociality and reciprocity; however, considering their lack of understanding of the contingencies of the particular tasks used in this study, the underlying motivation for the observed behaviour remains to be addressed by future studies, in order to elucidate the phylogenetic distribution of prosociality further.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Krasheninnikova
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundacíon, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Désirée Brucks
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundacíon, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Sigrid Blanc
- Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundacíon, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain
- Laboratoire d' Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée, EA 4443, Université Paris 13, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Auguste M. P. von Bayern
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
- Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station, Loro Parque Fundacíon, 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain
- Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Danel S, von Bayern AMP, Osiurak F. Ground-hornbills (Bucorvus) show means-end understanding in a horizontal two-string discrimination task. J ETHOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-018-0565-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
11
|
Liévin-Bazin A, Pineaux M, Clerc O, Gahr M, von Bayern AMP, Bovet D. Emotional responses to conspecific distress calls are modulated by affiliation in cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0205314. [PMID: 30300404 PMCID: PMC6177178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication is used across the animal kingdom to transfer information from emitters to receivers, such as size, sex, age, dominance status or even emotional states. The transmission of an emotional state from one individual to another is called "emotional contagion" and is classified as the first level of empathy. Emotional contagion is thought to be stronger between familiar individuals. While affiliation represents a stronger relation between individuals than mere familiarity, it remains understudied whether affiliation modulates emotional reactions as well. Using cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus), we played back three types of audio stimuli to individual birds: a partner's distress call (emitted when birds are caught or forcibly restrained), a non-partner's distress call, and a control sound (white noise). The calls were recorded from familiar birds with either low (non-partners) or high levels of affiliation (partners). The subjects' response was scored using four behavioural parameters: the time spent near the loudspeaker, the amount of movements, the number of calls emitted, and the position of the crest. Across all variables, birds were more attentive and active when confronted to distress calls compared to control sounds, particularly when the distress call was emitted from a partner rather than a non-partner. These results raise the possibility that distress calls do not only function as a stimulus-triggering automatic reaction in cockatiels but also transmit emotions. Moreover, affiliation enhanced emotional reactions to conspecific distress calls. Our data provides first insights into the mechanisms of emotional contagion in parrots.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Agatha Liévin-Bazin
- Laboratoire Éthologie Cognition Développement, EA, Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Maxime Pineaux
- Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Olivier Clerc
- Laboratoire Éthologie Cognition Développement, EA, Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
| | - Manfred Gahr
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Auguste M. P. von Bayern
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Dalila Bovet
- Laboratoire Éthologie Cognition Développement, EA, Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Kabadayi C, Taylor LA, von Bayern AMP, Osvath M. Ravens, New Caledonian crows and jackdaws parallel great apes in motor self-regulation despite smaller brains. R Soc Open Sci 2016; 3:160104. [PMID: 27152224 PMCID: PMC4852647 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Overriding motor impulses instigated by salient perceptual stimuli represent a fundamental inhibitory skill. Such motor self-regulation facilitates more rational behaviour, as it brings economy into the bodily interaction with the physical and social world. It also underlies certain complex cognitive processes including decision making. Recently, MacLean et al. (MacLean et al. 2014 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 2140-2148. (doi:10.1073/pnas.1323533111)) conducted a large-scale study involving 36 species, comparing motor self-regulation across taxa. They concluded that absolute brain size predicts level of performance. The great apes were most successful. Only a few of the species tested were birds. Given birds' small brain size-in absolute terms-yet flexible behaviour, their motor self-regulation calls for closer study. Corvids exhibit some of the largest relative avian brain sizes-although small in absolute measure-as well as the most flexible cognition in the animal kingdom. We therefore tested ravens, New Caledonian crows and jackdaws in the so-called cylinder task. We found performance indistinguishable from that of great apes despite the much smaller brains. We found both absolute and relative brain volume to be a reliable predictor of performance within Aves. The complex cognition of corvids is often likened to that of great apes; our results show further that they share similar fundamental cognitive mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Can Kabadayi
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Helgonavägen 3, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Lucy A. Taylor
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
| | - Auguste M. P. von Bayern
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Mathias Osvath
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Helgonavägen 3, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Martinho A, Burns ZT, von Bayern AMP, Kacelnik A. Monocular tool control, eye dominance, and laterality in New Caledonian crows. Curr Biol 2014; 24:2930-4. [PMID: 25484292 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.10.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Revised: 09/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Tool use, though rare, is taxonomically widespread, but morphological adaptations for tool use are virtually unknown. We focus on the New Caledonian crow (NCC, Corvus moneduloides), which displays some of the most innovative tool-related behavior among nonhumans. One of their major food sources is larvae extracted from burrows with sticks held diagonally in the bill, oriented with individual, but not species-wide, laterality. Among possible behavioral and anatomical adaptations for tool use, NCCs possess unusually wide binocular visual fields (up to 60°), suggesting that extreme binocular vision may facilitate tool use. Here, we establish that during natural extractions, tool tips can only be viewed by the contralateral eye. Thus, maintaining binocular view of tool tips is unlikely to have selected for wide binocular fields; the selective factor is more likely to have been to allow each eye to see far enough across the midsagittal line to view the tool's tip monocularly. Consequently, we tested the hypothesis that tool side preference follows eye preference and found that eye dominance does predict tool laterality across individuals. This contrasts with humans' species-wide motor laterality and uncorrelated motor-visual laterality, possibly because bill-held tools are viewed monocularly and move in concert with eyes, whereas hand-held tools are visible to both eyes and allow independent combinations of eye preference and handedness. This difference may affect other models of coordination between vision and mechanical control, not necessarily involving tools.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antone Martinho
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Zackory T Burns
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Auguste M P von Bayern
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK; Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Alex Kacelnik
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Auersperg AMI, van Horik JO, Bugnyar T, Kacelnik A, Emery NJ, von Bayern AMP. Combinatory actions during object play in psittaciformes (Diopsittaca nobilis, Pionites melanocephala, Cacatua goffini) and corvids (Corvus corax, C. monedula, C. moneduloides). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 129:62-71. [PMID: 25437492 DOI: 10.1037/a0038314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The playful (i.e., not overtly functional) combination of objects is considered a potential ontogenetic and phylogenetic precursor of technical problem solving abilities, as it may lead to affordance learning and honing of mechanical skills. We compared such activities in 6 avian species: 3 psittaciforms (black-headed caiques, red-shouldered macaws, and Goffin cockatoos) and 3 corvids (New Caledonian crows, ravens, and jackdaws). Differences in the type and frequency of object combinations were consistent with species' ecology. Object caching was found predominately in common ravens, which frequently cache food. The most intrinsically structured object combinations were found in New Caledonian crows and Goffin cockatoos, which both stand out for their problem solving abilities in physical tasks. Object insertions prevailed in New Caledonian crows that naturally extract food using tools. Our results support the idea that playful manipulations of inedible objects are linked to physical cognition and problem-solving abilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jayden O van Horik
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
| | | | | | - Nathan J Emery
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
| | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Jacobs IF, Osvath M, Osvath H, Mioduszewska B, von Bayern AMP, Kacelnik A. Object caching in corvids: incidence and significance. Behav Processes 2013; 102:25-32. [PMID: 24333834 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Revised: 11/19/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Food caching is a paramount model for studying relations between cognition, brain organisation and ecology in corvids. In contrast, behaviour towards inedible objects is poorly examined and understood. We review the literature on object caching in corvids and other birds, and describe an exploratory study on object caching in ravens, New Caledonian crows and jackdaws. The captive adult birds were presented with an identical set of novel objects adjacent to food. All three species cached objects, which shows the behaviour not to be restricted to juveniles, food cachers, tool-users or individuals deprived of cacheable food. The pattern of object interaction and caching did not mirror the incidence of food caching: the intensely food caching ravens indeed showed highest object caching incidence, but the rarely food caching jackdaws cached objects to similar extent as the moderate food caching New Caledonian crows. Ravens and jackdaws preferred objects with greater sphericity, but New Caledonian crows preferred stick-like objects (similar to tools). We suggest that the observed object caching might have been expressions of exploration or play, and deserves being studied in its own right because of its potential significance for tool-related behaviour and learning, rather than as an over-spill from food-caching research. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: CO3 2013.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivo F Jacobs
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Kungshuset, Lundagård, 222 22 Lund, Sweden.
| | - Mathias Osvath
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Kungshuset, Lundagård, 222 22 Lund, Sweden
| | - Helena Osvath
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Kungshuset, Lundagård, 222 22 Lund, Sweden
| | - Berenika Mioduszewska
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Auguste M P von Bayern
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany; Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Park Road, OX1 3PS Oxford, UK
| | - Alex Kacelnik
- Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Park Road, OX1 3PS Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Abstract
The ability to represent hidden objects plays an important role in the survival of many species. In order to provide an inclusive synopsis of the current benchmark tasks used to test object permanence in animals for a psittacine representative, we tested eight Goffin cockatoos (Cacatua goffini) on Stages 3-6 of Piagetian object permanence as well as derivations of spatial transposition, rotation, and translocation tasks. Subjects instantly solved visible displacement 3b and 4a but showed an extended plateau for solving Stage 5a at a very late age (10 months). Subjects readily solved most invisible displacement tasks including double hidings and four angles (90°, 180°, 270°, and 360°) of rotation and translocations at high performance levels, although Piagetian Stage 6 invisible displacement tasks caused more difficulties for the animals than transposition, rotations, and translocation tasks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Birgit Szabo
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
17
|
Auersperg AMI, Kacelnik A, von Bayern AMP. Explorative learning and functional inferences on a five-step means-means-end problem in Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatuagoffini). PLoS One 2013; 8:e68979. [PMID: 23844247 PMCID: PMC3700958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2013] [Accepted: 06/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate cognitive operations underlying sequential problem solving, we confronted ten Goffin's cockatoos with a baited box locked by five different inter-locking devices. Subjects were either naïve or had watched a conspecific demonstration, and either faced all devices at once or incrementally. One naïve subject solved the problem without demonstration and with all locks present within the first five sessions (each consisting of one trial of up to 20 minutes), while five others did so after social demonstrations or incremental experience. Performance was aided by species-specific traits including neophilia, a haptic modality and persistence. Most birds showed a ratchet-like progress, rarely failing to solve a stage once they had done it once. In most transfer tests subjects reacted flexibly and sensitively to alterations of the locks' sequencing and functionality, as expected from the presence of predictive inferences about mechanical interactions between the locks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alice M. I. Auersperg
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- * E-mail: (AA); (AK)
| | - Alex Kacelnik
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AA); (AK)
| | - Auguste M. P. von Bayern
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Max-Planck-Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Auersperg AMI, Szabo B, von Bayern AMP, Kacelnik A. Spontaneous innovation in tool manufacture and use in a Goffin's cockatoo. Curr Biol 2013; 22:R903-4. [PMID: 23137681 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
19
|
Auersperg AMI, von Bayern AMP, Gajdon GK, Huber L, Kacelnik A. Flexibility in problem solving and tool use of kea and New Caledonian crows in a multi access box paradigm. PLoS One 2011; 6:e20231. [PMID: 21687666 PMCID: PMC3110758 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2011] [Accepted: 04/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parrots and corvids show outstanding innovative and flexible behaviour. In particular, kea and New Caledonian crows are often singled out as being exceptionally sophisticated in physical cognition, so that comparing them in this respect is particularly interesting. However, comparing cognitive mechanisms among species requires consideration of non-cognitive behavioural propensities and morphological characteristics evolved from different ancestry and adapted to fit different ecological niches. We used a novel experimental approach based on a Multi-Access-Box (MAB). Food could be extracted by four different techniques, two of them involving tools. Initially all four options were available to the subjects. Once they reached criterion for mastering one option, this task was blocked, until the subjects became proficient in another solution. The exploratory behaviour differed considerably. Only one (of six) kea and one (of five) NCC mastered all four options, including a first report of innovative stick tool use in kea. The crows were more efficient in using the stick tool, the kea the ball tool. The kea were haptically more explorative than the NCC, discovered two or three solutions within the first ten trials (against a mean of 0.75 discoveries by the crows) and switched more quickly to new solutions when the previous one was blocked. Differences in exploration technique, neophobia and object manipulation are likely to explain differential performance across the set of tasks. Our study further underlines the need to use a diversity of tasks when comparing cognitive traits between members of different species. Extension of a similar method to other taxa could help developing a comparative cognition research program.
Collapse
|
20
|
von Bayern AMP, Heathcote RJP, Rutz C, Kacelnik A. The role of experience in problem solving and innovative tool use in crows. Curr Biol 2009; 19:1965-8. [PMID: 19913421 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2009] [Revised: 10/09/2009] [Accepted: 10/09/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Creative problem solving and innovative tool use in animals are often seen as indicators of advanced intelligence because they seem to imply causal reasoning abilities [1]. However, complex behavior can also arise from relatively simple mechanisms [2, 3], and the cognitive operations underlying seemingly "insightful" behavior are rarely examined [4]. By controlling and varying prior experience, it is possible to determine the minimum information animals require to solve a given problem [5]. We investigated how pretesting experience affects the performance of New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) when facing a novel problem. The task (developed by Bird and Emery [6]) required dropping stones into a vertical tube to collapse an out-of-reach platform in a transparent box and release a food reward. After establishing that the birds had no preexisting tendency to drop stones into holes, subjects were assigned to two experimental groups that were given different kinds of experience with the affordances of the apparatus. Crows that had learned about the mechanism (collapsibility) of the platform without the use of stones passed the task, just like the subjects that had previously been trained to drop stones. This demonstrates that successful innovation was also possible after acquaintance with just the functional properties of the task.
Collapse
|
21
|
von Bayern AMP, Emery NJ. Jackdaws respond to human attentional states and communicative cues in different contexts. Curr Biol 2009; 19:602-6. [PMID: 19345101 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2008] [Revised: 02/12/2009] [Accepted: 02/12/2009] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Humans communicate their intentions and disposition using their eyes, whereas the communicative function of eyes in animals is less clear. Many species show aversive reactions to eyes, and several species gain information from conspecifics' gaze direction by automatically co-orienting with them. However, most species show little sensitivity to more subtle indicators of attention than head orientation and have difficulties using such cues in a cooperative context. Recently, some species have been found responsive to gaze direction in competitive situations. We investigated the sensitivity of jackdaws, pair-bonded social corvids that exhibit an analogous eye morphology to humans, to subtle attentional and communicative cues in two contexts and paradigms. In a conflict paradigm, we measured the birds' latency to retrieve food in front of an unfamiliar or familiar human, depending on the state and orientation of their eyes toward food. In a cooperative paradigm, we tested whether the jackdaws used familiar human's attentional or communicative cues to locate hidden food. Jackdaws were sensitive to human attentional states in the conflict situation but only responded to communicative cues in the cooperative situation. These findings may be the result of a natural tendency to attend to conspecifics' eyes or the effect of intense human contact during socialization.
Collapse
|
22
|
Abstract
The 'social intelligence hypothesis' was originally conceived to explain how primates may have evolved their superior intellect and large brains when compared with other animals. Although some birds such as corvids may be intellectually comparable to apes, the same relationship between sociality and brain size seen in primates has not been found for birds, possibly suggesting a role for other non-social factors. But bird sociality is different from primate sociality. Most monkeys and apes form stable groups, whereas most birds are monogamous, and only form large flocks outside of the breeding season. Some birds form lifelong pair bonds and these species tend to have the largest brains relative to body size. Some of these species are known for their intellectual abilities (e.g. corvids and parrots), while others are not (e.g. geese and albatrosses). Although socio-ecological factors may explain some of the differences in brain size and intelligence between corvids/parrots and geese/albatrosses, we predict that the type and quality of the bonded relationship is also critical. Indeed, we present empirical evidence that rook and jackdaw partnerships resemble primate and dolphin alliances. Although social interactions within a pair may seem simple on the surface, we argue that cognition may play an important role in the maintenance of long-term relationships, something we name as 'relationship intelligence'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J Emery
- Sub-department of Animal Behaviour, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 8AA, UK.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|