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- Cauchoix, M., et al.
(författare)
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The repeatability of cognitive performance : a meta-analysis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8436 .- 1471-2970. ; 373:1756
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Behavioural and cognitive processes play important roles in mediating an individual's interactions with its environment. Yet, while there is a vast literature on repeatable individual differences in behaviour, relatively little is known about the repeatability of cognitive performance. To further our understanding of the evolution of cognition, we gathered 44 studies on individual performance of 25 species across six animal classes and used meta-analysis to assess whether cognitive performance is repeatable. We compared repeatability (R) in performance (1) on the same task presented at different times (temporal repeatability), and (2) on different tasks that measured the same putative cognitive ability (contextual repeatability). We also addressed whether R estimates were influenced by seven extrinsic factors (moderators): type of cognitive performance measurement, type of cognitive task, delay between tests, origin of the subjects, experimental context, taxonomic class and publication status. We found support for both temporal and contextual repeatability of cognitive performance, with mean R estimates ranging between 0.15 and 0.28. Repeatability estimates were mostly influenced by the type of cognitive performance measures and publication status. Our findings highlight the widespread occurrence of consistent inter-individual variation in cognition across a range of taxa which, like behaviour, may be associated with fitness outcomes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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| 2. |
- Boucaud, Ingrid C. A., et al.
(författare)
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Interactive vocal communication at the nest by parent Great Tits Parus major
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ibis. - : Wiley. - 0019-1019 .- 1474-919X. ; 158:3, s. 630-644
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although most bird species show monogamous pair bonds and bi-parental care, little is known of how mated birds coordinate their activities. Whether or not partners communicate with each other to adjust their behaviour remains an open question. During incubation and the first days after hatching, one parent - generally the female - stays in the nest for extended periods, and might depend on acoustic communication to exchange information with its mate outside. The Great Tit Parus major is an interesting study system to investigate intra-pair communication at the nest because males address songs to their mate while she is in the nest cavity, and females answer the male from the cavity with calls. However, the function of this communication remains unknown. In this study, we recorded the vocalizations and observed the resulting behaviour of Great Tit pairs around the nest at different breeding stages (laying, incubation and chick-rearing). We observed vocal exchanges (vocalization bouts, alternated on the same tempo, between the female inside the nest and her male outside) in three contexts with different outcomes: (1) the female left the nest, (2) the male entered the box with food, and the female then used specific call types, (3) mates stopped calling but did not leave or enter the nest. The structure of vocal exchanges was globally stable between contexts, but females used calls with an up-shifted spectrum during exchanges, at the end of which they left the nest or the male entered the nest. Birds vocalized more and at higher tempo during exchanges that ended up in feeding inside the nest. Birds also vocalized more during exchanges taking place during laying - a period of active mate guarding - than during incubation. We conclude that vocal exchanges could signal the females' need for food and the males' mate guarding behaviour, and discuss other possible functions of this communication.
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