Animal Cognition最新文献

Egg retrieval in ground-nesting cuckoo hosts: can two species of buntings accurately identify and retrieve their own eggs?

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-12-12 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01919-w

Yuhan Zhang, Guo Zhong, Longwu Wang, Wei Liang

{"title":"Egg retrieval in ground-nesting cuckoo hosts: can two species of buntings accurately identify and retrieve their own eggs?","authors":"Yuhan Zhang, Guo Zhong, Longwu Wang, Wei Liang","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01919-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01919-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Egg retrieval in birds may help ensure the survival of eggs and improve reproductive success. However, with the risk of brood parasitism, for ground-nesting or cavity-nesting bird hosts, there is a significant reproductive cost and thus a reduction in fitness if the host wrongly retrieved the parasitic eggs. The south rock bunting <i>(Emberiza yunnanensis</i>) and yellow-throated bunting (<i>E. elegans</i>) are hosts for common cuckoos (<i>Cuculus canorus</i>), which coexist within the study area and breed sympatrically in ground nests. Previous studies have found that these two species exhibit strong egg recognition and egg rejection of non-mimetic eggs. In this study, red model eggs, budgerigar eggs, and the host’s own eggs were used to assess the recognition and retrieval behavior of two bunting hosts, particularly in response to different types of eggs placed at the nest edge. The results showed that both bunting hosts retrieved ca. 80% of own eggs and did not retrieve any red model eggs. This indicated that both species could distinguish non-mimetic model eggs from their own eggs and make appropriate decisions, which is consistent with their responses when encountering foreign eggs in the nest. However, both species simultaneously retrieved some (8.3% for the yellow-throated bunting and 19% for south rock bunting) of the highly mimetic budgerigar eggs, indicating that the degree of mimicry of foreign eggs affects their egg recognition and egg retrieval behavior. Factors such as parasitism risk, nest predation pressure, age differences, and experience of parent birds may combine to influence egg retrieval behavior of the host.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01919-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142811307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Mechanical problem solving by plush-crested jays: are tools special after all?

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-12-06 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01922-1

Jimena Lois-Milevicich, Lauriane Rat-Fischer, María Alicia de la Colina, Raúl Orencio Gómez, Juan Carlos Reboreda, Alex Kacelnik

{"title":"Mechanical problem solving by plush-crested jays: are tools special after all?","authors":"Jimena Lois-Milevicich, Lauriane Rat-Fischer, María Alicia de la Colina, Raúl Orencio Gómez, Juan Carlos Reboreda, Alex Kacelnik","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01922-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01922-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Tool use is taxonomically associated with high behavioural flexibility and innovativeness, and its prevalence is greater in primates and some bird species. This association, however, is not known to be causally determinant of tool-related competence since flexibility and innovativeness are often observed in the absence of tool use and vice versa. For this reason, it is interesting to explore whether animals that can be loosely categorized as outstanding, or ‘intelligent’ physical problem solvers, are also remarkable using tools innovatively, rather than tool use presenting special constraints. We investigate this problem using plush-crested jays (<i>Cyanocorax chrysops</i>), a corvid new to cognitive research that shows highly flexible and inquisitive behaviour in the wild and has not been reported to use tools. We tested jays in two tasks of apparent similar manipulative complexity and incentive, one involving a tool (T) and the other not (NT). In the NT task birds had to open a box with a transparent lid blocked by a latch to get a reward, whereas in the T task, they had to use a rake to pull out the reward from the box. Eight out of nine subjects succeeded in the NT task, whereas none of them learned to solve the T task. This is consistent with tool use involving dedicated competencies, rather than just high problem-solving proficiency.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01922-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142778479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Information-seeking in mice (Mus musculus) during visual discrimination: study using a distractor elimination paradigm

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-12-02 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01920-3

Yuya Hataji, Kazuhiro Goto

{"title":"Information-seeking in mice (Mus musculus) during visual discrimination: study using a distractor elimination paradigm","authors":"Yuya Hataji, Kazuhiro Goto","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01920-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01920-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Some animals seek information to solve problems when they do not know the answer. Information-seeking behavior has become a key focus in studies of animal metacognition, providing insights into how animals monitor their own knowledge states. This behavior is thought to be a form of metacognitive control. Nevertheless, research on such metacognitive control has been biased toward specific taxa, such as primates, and has not been conducted in rodents, which are the most common experimental animals. This study examined whether mice exhibit information-seeking behavior during two visual discrimination tasks and what factors influence this behavior. We trained mice to discriminate between stimuli differing in luminance or orientation, with more minor differences increasing task difficulty. An information-seeking option was introduced during these tasks, allowing mice to eliminate distractor stimuli and ensure a correct response. The results indicated that mice sought information more frequently during difficult discriminations than easier ones. However, subsequent generalization tests revealed that the mice relied on environmental cues to utilize the information-seeking option. These findings suggest that information-seeking behavior in mice may not solely reflect metacognitive processes, and further investigation is needed to explore alternative explanations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01920-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142757996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Bumblebee social learning outcomes correlate with their flower-facing behaviour 大黄蜂的社会学习成果与其面向花朵的行为有关

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-26 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01918-x

Yuyi Lu, Zhenwei Zhuo, Mark Roper, Lars Chittka, Cwyn Solvi, Fei Peng, Ying Zhou

{"title":"Bumblebee social learning outcomes correlate with their flower-facing behaviour","authors":"Yuyi Lu, Zhenwei Zhuo, Mark Roper, Lars Chittka, Cwyn Solvi, Fei Peng, Ying Zhou","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01918-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01918-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Previous studies suggest that social learning in bumblebees can occur through second-order conditioning, with conspecifics functioning as first-order reinforcers. However, the behavioural mechanisms underlying bumblebees’ acquisition of socially learned associations remain largely unexplored. Investigating these mechanisms requires detailed quantification and analysis of the observation process. Here we designed a new 2D paradigm suitable for simple top-down high-speed video recording and analysed bumblebees’ observational learning process using a deep-learning-based pose-estimation framework. Two groups of bumblebees observed live conspecifics foraging from either blue or yellow flowers during a single foraging bout, and were subsequently tested for their socially learned colour preferences. Both groups successfully learned the colour indicated by the demonstrators and spent more time facing rewarding flowers—whether occupied by demonstrators or not—compared to non-rewarding flowers. While both groups showed a negative correlation between time spent facing non-rewarding flowers and learning outcomes, the observer bees in the blue group benefited from time spent facing occupied rewarding flowers, whereas the yellow group showed that time facing unoccupied rewarding flowers by the observer bees positively correlated with their learning outcomes. These results suggest that socially influenced colour preferences are shaped by the interplay of different types of observations rather than merely by observing a conspecific at a single colour. Together, these findings provide direct evidence of the dynamical viewing process of observer bees during social observation, opening up new opportunities for exploring the details of more complex social learning in bumblebees and other insects.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01918-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142714571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Comments on “Comparing the productive vocabularies of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) and young children” 关于 "比较灰鹦鹉（Psittacus erithacus）和幼儿的生产性词汇 "的评论

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-25 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01917-y

Irene M. Pepperberg

{"title":"Comments on “Comparing the productive vocabularies of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) and young children”","authors":"Irene M. Pepperberg","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01917-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01917-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Roubalová et al. (Anim Cogn 27(45), 2024) have written an intriguing paper in which they compare the acquired human speech patterns of Grey parrots (<i>Psittacus erithacus</i>) raised as companion animals to those of typically developing human toddlers (<i>Homo sapiens</i>) predominantly raised by stay-at-home mothers; birds and humans were ostensibly matched for vocabulary size. The authors’ data collection and analyses are impressive and I applaud their efforts; however, I take exception to their assumptions, as they clearly state in their Introduction, that children and parrots received comparable input and their conclusions, also clearly stated, that the differences observed in initial output were a consequence primarily of human uniqueness—i.e., as they argue, “the sociocognitive specifics of the human language.” Contrary to the authors’ claims, the input received by the parrots was very likely quite impoverished when compared to that of the children. Moreover, the birds were acquiring a heterospecific communication code from heterospecific models whereas the children were learning a conspecific code from conspecifics; the birds’ experiences were therefore somewhat more like that of humans learning a second language without explicit instruction. Thus, the conclusions drawn from the authors’ meticulous research should be on how much communicative behavior parrots can acquire despite receiving input of inadequate quality and quantity, rather than on direct comparisons with human toddlers receiving optimal input.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01917-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142694814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Companion dogs flexibly and spontaneously comprehend human gestures in multiple contexts 伴侣犬能在多种情境下灵活自发地理解人类的手势。

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-20 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01901-6

Hannah Salomons, Jordan Sokoloff, Brian Hare

{"title":"Companion dogs flexibly and spontaneously comprehend human gestures in multiple contexts","authors":"Hannah Salomons, Jordan Sokoloff, Brian Hare","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01901-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01901-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Dogs’ comprehension of human gestures has been characterized as more human-like than that of our closest primate relatives, due to a level of flexibility and spontaneous performance on par with that of human infants. However, many of the critical experiments that have been the core evidence for an understanding of human communicative intentions in dogs have yet to be replicated. Here we test the ability of dogs to comprehend a pointing gesture while varying the salience of the gesture and the context in which it is made. We find that subjects’ (<i>N</i> = 70) choices across two experiments are consistent with an understanding of communicative intentions. Results largely replicate previous critical controls that rule out a number of egocentric hypotheses including an attraction to human hands and novelty. We also find that dogs spontaneously follow a human gesture in a new context: choosing which direction to navigate around a barrier. The flexible and spontaneous problem solving observed in dogs’ gesture comprehension is discussed in relation to its similarity to that of human infants. We conclude with important avenues for future research.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01901-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142674934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task 成年家鸡在六学期系列任务中的转折推理。

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-19 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1

R. Degrande, O. Amichaud, B. Piégu, F. Cornilleau, P. Jardat, V. H.B. Ferreira, V. Colson, L. Lansade, L. Calandreau

{"title":"Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task","authors":"R. Degrande, O. Amichaud, B. Piégu, F. Cornilleau, P. Jardat, V. H.B. Ferreira, V. Colson, L. Lansade, L. Calandreau","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Transitive inference (TI) is a disjunctive syllogism that allows an individual to indirectly infer a relationship between two components, by knowing their respective relationship to a third component (if A > B and B > C, then A > C). The common procedure is the 5-term series task, in which individuals are tested on indirect, unlearned relations. Few bird species have been tested for TI to date, which limits our knowledge of the phylogenetic spread of such reasoning ability. Here we tested TI in adult laying hens using a more solid methodology, the 6-term series task, which has not been tested in poultry so far. Six hens were trained to learn direct relationships in a sequence of six arbitrary items (A > B > C > D > E > F) in a hybrid training procedure. Then, 12 testing sessions were run, comprising 3 non-rewarded inference trials each: BD, BE, and CE. All subjects showed TI within 12 inference trials and were capable of TI whatever the relative distance between the items in the series. We found that TI performance was not impacted by the reinforcement ratios of the items for most individuals, making it harder to support a purely associative-based resolution of the task. We suggest that TI is based on the same cognitive processes in poultry (<i>Galloanserae</i>) than in modern flying birds (<i>Neoaves</i>), and that the cognitive strategy to solve the task might be driven mainly by individual parameters within species. These results contribute to a better understanding of transitive inference processes in birds.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142666918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Visuo-spatial compound stimuli discrimination with (Gryllus pennsylvanicus) in two-choices rewarding learning tasks 在二选一的奖励学习任务中使用蝼蛄辨别视觉空间复合刺激物

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-12 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01903-4

André Cyr, Isaiah Morrow, Julie Morand-Ferron

引用次数: 0

The repeatability of behavioural laterality during nest building in zebra finches 斑马雀筑巢过程中侧向行为的可重复性

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-12 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01916-z

Andrés Camacho-Alpízar, Jessica Hewitt, Cailyn Poole, Tristan Eckersley, Benjamin A. Whittaker, Julia L. Self, Lauren M. Guillette

{"title":"The repeatability of behavioural laterality during nest building in zebra finches","authors":"Andrés Camacho-Alpízar, Jessica Hewitt, Cailyn Poole, Tristan Eckersley, Benjamin A. Whittaker, Julia L. Self, Lauren M. Guillette","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01916-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01916-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cerebral laterality is a widespread phenomenon across animals and refers to the specialization of the left and right hemispheres of the brain for perceptual, cognitive and behavioural tasks. Behavioural laterality occurs in several contexts, including foraging, mate selection, predator detection and tool manufacture. Behavioural laterality during nest building, however, has rarely been addressed. We conducted two experiments to examine (1) whether behavioural laterality occurs during nest building, (2) whether laterality correlates with nest-building speed, (3) whether laterality during nest building is repeatable, and (4) whether nest-building experience influences laterality. In Experiment 1, we scored individual laterality indices for 58 zebra finch (<i>Taeniopygia guttata</i>) males, the nest-building sex in this species, based on which eye he used to view then select the first 25 pieces of nest material. We calculated correlations between laterality strength and nest-building duration. In Experiment 2, to test the repeatability of laterality during nest building, we measured laterality for 20 males across five nests built by each male. Individuals varied both in the direction and the strength of behavioural laterality of material selection during nest building. Overall, however, males were not consistent in their laterality across the five nests. We found no correlation between laterality strength and nest-building duration in either experiment. Finally, we found evidence for building experience influencing the behavioural laterality of individuals: more building experience results in more predictable behavioural laterality during nest-material selection.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01916-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142600646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Evidence for a general cognitive structure in pigeons (Columba livia) 鸽子（Columba livia）一般认知结构的证据。

IF 1.9 2区生物学

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2024-11-02 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01912-3

Mary Flaim, Aaron P. Blaisdell

{"title":"Evidence for a general cognitive structure in pigeons (Columba livia)","authors":"Mary Flaim, Aaron P. Blaisdell","doi":"10.1007/s10071-024-01912-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10071-024-01912-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A well replicated result in humans is that performance, whether good or bad, is consistent across a wide variety of cognitive tasks. Factor analysis extracts one factor that can account for approximately half of the variance in performance. This factor is termed <i>g</i> and almost all cognitive tasks positively load onto this factor. While some neurobiological correlates of <i>g</i> have been identified in humans, causal experiments are only feasible in animals. When mice and some avian species are assessed with cognitive test batteries, performance positively correlates, and the first component extracted has similar properties to <i>g</i>. There are some limitations to the species tested thus far, including comparability in the cognitive domains assessed. The pigeon is an ideal subject to overcome these issues since pigeons, humans, and other primates are frequently given similar tasks and many neural correlates of performance have been identified in the pigeon. We created a test battery that assessed different domains, including associative learning, memory, cognitive flexibility, and reaction time. When all tasks were included, there was evidence for a two-component structure that was influenced by subjects’ age. When the reaction time task was excluded, there was a <i>g-like</i> component. The implications for these results when constructing future test batteries and comparing across species are discussed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7879,"journal":{"name":"Animal Cognition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-024-01912-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142563809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0