Better together than alone: sociality mitigates the negative impact of early family disruption on adult problem-solving performance in zebra finches.

Adolescent cognitive development, characterized by social learning and innovation, is sensitive to social disruptions. We investigated how family disruption during emancipation affects adult problem-solving performance in social contexts. We manipulated the social environment of 22 zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) broods during emancipation by replacing the biological father with an unfamiliar male or by leaving the family intact. In adulthood, offspring underwent a social task, solving a novel problem with their siblings. Then, they had to complete the same task on their own to evaluate the persistence of the treatment effects after the social task. Experimental individuals were less successful than controls in the social task. Although average brood performance was similar, experimental broods showed greater heterogeneity than controls. In the isolated trial, the differences between experimental and control individuals disappeared. Our findings suggest that family disruption during emancipation affects individual problem-solving skills in social settings. However, the success of a few siblings in experimental broods, who likely shared their discoveries, compensated for this impairment and improved overall brood performance. These individuals likely provided social information during the social trial, and this probably benefitted their siblings during the isolated trial. We emphasize the importance of studying animal cognition in social settings and the role of social learning in mitigating cognitive impairments.