| 1. |
- Amiel, Joshua Johnstone, et al.
(författare)
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Egg incubation effects generate positive correlations between size, speed and learning ability in young lizards
- 2014
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Berlin/Heidelberg. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 17:2, s. 337-347
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies have suggested that body size and locomotor performance are targets of Darwinian selection in reptiles. However, much of the variation in these traits may derive from phenotypically plastic responses to incubation temperature, rather than from underlying genetic variation. Intriguingly, incubation temperature may also influence cognitive traits such as learning ability. Therefore, we might expect correlations between a reptiles size, locomotor speed and learning ability either due to selection on all of these traits or due to environmental effects during egg incubation. In the present study, we incubated lizard eggs (Scincidae: Bassiana duperreyi) under hot and cold thermal regimes and then assessed differences in hatchling body size, running speed and learning ability. We measured learning ability using a Y-maze and a food reward. We found high correlations between size, speed and learning ability, using two different metrics to quantify learning (time to solution, and directness of route), and showed that environmental effects (incubation temperature) cause these correlations. If widespread, such correlations challenge any simple interpretation of fitness advantages due to body size or speed within a population; for example, survivors may be larger and faster than nonsurvivors because of differences in learning ability, not because of their size or speed.
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| 2. |
- Baird, Emily
(författare)
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Obstacle avoidance in bumblebees is robust to changes in light intensity
- 2020
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 23, s. 1081-1086
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Flying safely and avoiding obstacles in low light is crucial for the bumblebees that forage around dawn and dusk. Previous work has shown that bumblebees overcome the limitations of their visual system-typically adapted for bright sunlight-by increasing the time over which they sample photons. While this improves visual sensitivity, it decreases their capacity to resolve fast motion. This study investigates what effect this has on obstacle avoidance in flight, a task that requires the bees to reliably detect obstacles in the frontal visual field and to make a timely diversion to their flight path. In both bright and dim light, bumblebees avoided the 5 cm diameter obstacle at a consistent distance (22 cm) although in dim light they approached it more slowly from a distance of at least at least 80 cm. This suggests that bumblebees have an effective strategy for avoiding obstacles in all light conditions under which they are naturally active, and it is hypothesised that this is based on a time-to-contact prediction.
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| 3. |
- Bessa Ferreira, Vitor Hugo, et al.
(författare)
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Social motivation and the use of distal, but not local, featural cues are related to ranging behavior in free-range chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 23:4, s. 769-780
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animals can navigate an environment relying on different sources of information, such as geometrical or featural cues. The favoring of one type of information over another depends on multiple factors, such as inter-individual differences in behavior and cognition. Free-range chickens present different range use patterns, which may be explained by behavioral and cognitive differences. However, how behavior, cognition, and range use intercorrelate is still poorly understood. In this work, we aimed to further understand possible differences in behavior and cognition between two groups of free-range broiler chickens: those who frequently explore their range (high rangers) and those who prefer to stay in or near the barn (low rangers). Prior to range access, individual behavior was measured in open field-, emergence-, and social motivation tests. To investigate cognitive differences, we analyzed whether exploratory behavior was linked to different performances in the use of distal and local spatial cues during an orientation task. During the social motivation test, low rangers showed a higher inclination to be near conspecifics than did high rangers. Our orientation tests show that chickens preferred to orientate themselves using the local cues over the distal cues. Individual differences were only found for distal, but not for local, cue use suggesting that demanding tasks are more efficient in revealing individual cognitive differences. Our results suggest that considering variation in social motivation may allow a more comprehensive understanding of chicken range use. Our results also support the importance of incorporating multiple aspects of individual differences to understand individual reactions to its environment.
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| 4. |
- Boddington, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The relationship between monoaminergic gene expression, learning, and optimism in red junglefowl chicks
- 2020
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 23:5, s. 901-911
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intra-species cognitive variation is commonly observed, but explanations for why individuals within a species differ in cognition are still understudied and not yet clear. Cognitive processes are likely influenced by genetic differences, with genes in the monoaminergic systems predicted to be important. To explore the potential role of these genes in association with individual variation in cognition, we exposed red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) chicks to behavioural assays measuring variation in learning (discriminative learning, reversal learning, and cognitive flexibility) and optimism (measured in a cognitive judgement bias test). Following this, we analysed prefrontal cortex gene expression of several dopaminergic and serotonergic genes in these chicks. Of our explored genes, serotonin receptor genes 5HT2A and 5HT2B, and dopaminergic receptor gene DRD1 were associated with measured behaviour. Chicks that had higher 5HT2A were less flexible in the reversal learning task, and chicks with higher 5HT2B also tended to be less cognitively flexible. Additionally, chicks with higher DRD1 were more optimistic, whilst chicks with higher 5HT2A tended to be less optimistic. These results suggest that the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems are linked to observed cognitive variation, and, thus, individual differences in cognition can be partially explained by variation in brain gene expression.
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| 5. |
- Cauchard, Laure, et al.
(författare)
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How to solve novel problems : the role of associative learning in problem-solving performance in wild great tits Parus major
- 2024
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 27
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although problem-solving tasks are frequently used to assess innovative ability, the extent to which problem-solving performance reflects variation in cognitive skills has been rarely formally investigated. Using wild breeding great tits facing a new non-food motivated problem-solving task, we investigated the role of associative learning in finding the solution, compared to multiple other non-cognitive factors. We first examined the role of accuracy (the proportion of contacts made with the opening part of a string-pulling task), neophobia, exploration, activity, age, sex, body condition and participation time on the ability to solve the task. To highlight the effect of associative learning, we then compared accuracy between solvers and non-solvers, before and after the first cue to the solution (i.e., the first time they pulled the string opening the door). We finally compared accuracy over consecutive entrances for solvers. Using 884 observations from 788 great tits tested from 2010 to 2015, we showed that, prior to initial successful entrance, solvers were more accurate and more explorative than non-solvers, and that females were more likely to solve the task than males. The accuracy of solvers, but not of non-solvers, increased significantly after they had the opportunity to associate string pulling with the movement of the door, giving them a first cue to the task solution. The accuracy of solvers also increased over successive entrances. Our results demonstrate that variations in problem-solving performance primarily reflect inherent individual differences in associative learning, and are also to a lesser extent shaped by sex and exploratory behaviour.
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| 6. |
- Dacke, Marie, et al.
(författare)
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A dung beetle that path integrates without the use of landmarks
- 2020
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 23, s. 1161-1175
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Unusual amongst dung beetles,Scarabaeus galenusdigs a burrow that it provisions by making repeated trips to a nearby dung pile. Even more remarkable is that these beetles return home moving backwards, with a pellet of dung between their hind legs. Here, we explore the strategy thatS. galenususes to find its way home. We find that, like many other insects, they use path integration to calculate the direction and distance to their home. If they fail to locate their burrow, the beetles initiate a distinct looping search behaviour that starts with a characteristic sharp turn, we have called a 'turning point'. When homing beetles are passively displaced or transferred to an unfamiliar environment, they initiate a search at a point very close to the location of their fictive burrow-that is, a spot at the same relative distance and direction from the pick-up point as the original burrow. Unlike other insects,S. galenusdo not appear to supplement estimates of the burrow location with landmark information. Thus,S. galenusrepresents a rare case of a consistently backward-homing animal that does not use landmarks to augment its path integration strategy.
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| 7. |
- Dacke, Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence for counting in insects
- 2008
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-9456 .- 1435-9448. ; 11:4, s. 683-689
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here we investigate the counting ability in honeybees by training them to receive a food reward after they have passed a specific number of landmarks. The distance to the food reward is varied frequently and randomly, whilst keeping the number of intervening landmarks constant. Thus, the bees cannot identify the food reward in terms of its distance from the hive. We find that bees can count up to four objects, when they are encountered sequentially during flight. Furthermore, bees trained in this way are able count novel objects, which they have never previously encountered, thus demonstrating that they are capable of object-independent counting. A further experiment reveals that the counting ability that the bees display in our experiments is primarily sequential in nature. It appears that bees can navigate to food sources by maintaining a running count of prominent landmarks that are passed en route, provided this number does not exceed four.
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| 8. |
- Freeberg, Todd M., et al.
(författare)
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Tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) calling and risk-sensitive foraging in the face of threat
- 2014
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 17:6, s. 1341-1352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Individuals often produce alarm or mobbing calls when they detect a threat such as a predator. Little is known about whether such calling is affected by the facial orientation of a potential threat, however. We tested for an effect of facial orientation of a potential threat on tufted titmice, Baeolophus bicolor, a songbird that uses chick-a-dee calls in a variety of social contexts. In two studies, a human observer wore an animal mask that either faced or faced away from the focal bird(s). In Study 1, focal birds were individual titmice captured in a walk-in trap, and the observer stood near the trapped bird. In Study 2, focal birds were titmouse flocks utilizing a feeding station and the observer stood near the station. In both studies, calling behavior was affected by mask orientation. In Study 2, foraging and agonistic behavior were also affected. Titmice can therefore perceive the facial orientation of a potential threat, and this perception affects different behavioral systems, including calling. Our results indicate sensitivity of titmice to the facial orientation of a potential predator in two quite different motivational contexts. This work suggests the possibility of strategic signaling by prey species depending upon the perceptual space of a detected predator.
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| 9. |
- Garnham, Laura, 1988-, et al.
(författare)
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Variation in inhibitory control does not influence social rank, foraging efficiency, or risk taking, in red junglefowl females
- 2022
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Heidelberg. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 25, s. 867-879
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Individual variation in cognition, seen in many taxa, is not well understood, despite its potential evolutionary consequences. Inhibitory control is an aspect of cognition which differs between individuals. However, how selection could act on this variation remains unclear. First, individual consistency over time of behaviours affected by inhibitory control, and how these behaviours relate to each other, is not well understood. Second, consequences in ecologically relevant contexts of variation in behaviours affected by inhibitory control, are scarcely investigated. Therefore, we explored the temporal consistency and inter-relatedness of two behaviours influenced by inhibitory control (impulsive action and persistence) and how these link to social rank, foraging efficiency, and risk taking in adult female red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). We measured impulsive action in a detour test, and persistence in both a detour test and a foraging test. Impulsive action and persistence, measured in a detour test, were moderately consistent over time, and positively correlated. This implies that selection could act on inhibitory control via these behaviours, and selection on one behaviour could affect the other. However, we found no evidence of links between inhibitory control and social rank, foraging efficiency, or risk taking. This implies that selection may not act on inhibitory control via these measures, and that, in general, there may be a lack of strong selection on inhibitory control. This, in turn, could help explain individual variation in this aspect of cognition. Future research should explore the specificity of when inhibitory control has implications for individuals, and continue to investigate how variation in cognitive traits influences how individuals behave in contexts with potential evolutionary implications.
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| 10. |
- Heinrich, Dennis D. U., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of reward magnitude and training frequency on the learning rates and memory retention of the Port Jackson sharkHeterodontus portusjacksoni
- 2020
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Ingår i: Animal Cognition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-9448 .- 1435-9456. ; 23, s. 939-949
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of adaptive responses to novel situations via learning has been demonstrated in a wide variety of animal taxa. However, knowledge on the learning abilities of one of the oldest extant vertebrate groups, Chondrichthyes, remains limited. With the increasing interest in global wildlife tourism and shark feeding operations, it is important to understand the capacities of these animals to form associations between human activities and food. We used an operant conditioning regime with a simple spatial cognitive task to investigate the effects of reinforcement frequency and reward magnitude on the learning performance and memory retention of Port Jackson sharks (Heterodontus portusjacksoni). Twenty-four Port Jackson sharks were assigned one of four treatments differing in reward magnitude and reinforcement frequency (large magnitude-high frequency; large magnitude-low frequency; small magnitude-high frequency; small magnitude-low frequency). The sharks were trained over a 21-day period to compare the number of days that it took to learn to pass an assigned door to feed. Sharks trained at a high reinforcement frequency demonstrated faster learning rates and a higher number of passes through the correct door at the end of the trials, while reward magnitude had limited effects on learning rate. This suggests that a reduction in reinforcement frequency during tourism-related feeding operations is likely to be more effective in reducing the risk of sharks making associations with food than limiting the amount of food provided.
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