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Author Tomasello, M.; Davis-Dasilva, M.; Camak, L.; Bard, K.
Title Observational learning of tool-use by young chimpanzees Type Journal Article
Year 1987 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal Human Evolution
Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 175-183
Keywords Chimpanzees; Observational Learning; Tool-Use
Abstract In the current study two groups of young chimpanzees (4–6 and 8–9 years old) were given a T-bar and a food item that could only be reached by using the T-bar. Experimental subjects were given the opportunity to observe an adult using the stick as a tool to obtain the food; control subjects were exposed to the adult but were given no demonstration. Subjects in the older group did not learn to use the tool. Subjects in the younger group who were exposed to the demonstrator learned to use the stick as a tool much more readily than those who were not. None of the subjects demonstrated an ability to imitatively copy the demonstrator's precise behavioral strategies. More than simple stimulus enhancement was involved, however, since both groups manipulated the T-bar, but only experimental subjects used it in its function as a tool. Our findings complement naturalistic observations in suggesting that chimpanzee tool-use is in some sense «culturally transmitted» — though perhaps not in the same sense as social-conventional behaviors for which precise copying of conspecifics is crucial.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Kluwer Academic Publishers Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0393-9375 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5915
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Author Kendal, R.L.; Coe, R.L.; Laland, K.N.
Title Age differences in neophilia, exploration, and innovation in family groups of callitrichid monkeys Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication (up) American journal of primatology Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Primatol.
Volume 66 Issue 2 Pages 167-188
Keywords Age Factors; Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Animals, Zoo; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Callitrichinae/*physiology; *Creativeness; Exploratory Behavior/*physiology; Observation; Social Behavior; Task Performance and Analysis
Abstract The prevailing assumption in the primate literature is that young or juvenile primates are more innovative than adult individuals. This innovative tendency among the young is frequently thought to be a consequence, or side effect, of their increased rates of exploration and play. Conversely, Reader and Laland's [International Journal of Primatology 22:787-806, 2001] review of the primate innovation literature noted a greater reported incidence of innovation in adults than nonadults, which they interpreted as (in part) a reflection of the greater experience and competence of older individuals. Within callitrichids there is contradictory evidence for age differences in response to novel objects, foods, and foraging tasks. By presenting novel extractive foraging tasks to family groups of callitrichid monkeys in zoos, we examined, in a large sample, whether there are positive or negative relationships of age with neophilia, exploration, and innovation, and whether play or experience most facilitates innovation. The results indicate that exploration and innovation (but not neophilia) are positively correlated with age, perhaps reflecting adults' greater manipulative competence. To the extent that there was evidence for play in younger individuals, it did not appear to contribute to innovation. The implications of these findings for the fields of innovation and conservation through reintroduction are considered.
Address Sub-Department of Animal Behavior, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. RachelKendal2003@yahoo.co.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0275-2565 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15940712 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2148
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Author Overdorff, D.J.; Erhart, E.M.; Mutschler, T.
Title Does female dominance facilitate feeding priority in black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in southeastern Madagascar? Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication (up) American journal of primatology Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Primatol.
Volume 66 Issue 1 Pages 7-22
Keywords Agonistic Behavior; Animals; Eating/physiology; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Female; Leadership; Lemuridae/*physiology; Madagascar; Male; Observation; Sex Factors; *Social Dominance
Abstract Although many Malagasy lemurs are thought to be female dominant and to have female feeding priority, to date the relationship between these behaviors has been rigorously established only in Lemur catta, and other ways that females might achieve feeding priority have not been examined closely. Erhart and Overdorff [International Journal of Primatology 20:927-940, 1999] suggested that one way female primates achieve feeding priority is to initiate and lead groups to food, thereby gaining access to the food first and positively influencing their food intake compared to other group members. Here we describe female dominance patterns and potential measures of feeding priority in two groups of black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) that were observed over a 15-month period in southeastern Madagascar. We predicted that the females would 1) be consistently dominant to males, 2) lead groups to food sources more often than males, and 3) have higher feeding rates compared to males when they arrived at food sources first. The results were dissimilar between the study groups. During the study, the oldest adult female in group 1 died. There was no evidence for female dominance in this group, and the remaining (likely natal) female did not lead the group more often, nor did she have a higher food intake than males. Group 1 dispersed shortly after the time frame reported here. In contrast, the resident female in group 2 was dominant to group males (based on agonistic interactions), led the group to food sources more often, and experienced a higher food intake when she arrived first at a food source. How these patterns vary over time and are influenced by the number of females in groups, group stability, food quality, and reproductive condition will be examined in future analyses.
Address Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712-1086, USA. overdorff@mail.utexas.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0275-2565 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15898069 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4110
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Author Nelson, X.J.; Fijn, N.
Title The use of visual media as a tool for investigating animal behaviour Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication (up) Animal Behaviour Abbreviated Journal
Volume 85 Issue 3 Pages 525-536
Keywords citizen science; crowdsourcing; internet; online resource; opportunistic observation; 'people power'; playback study; preliminary testing; YouTube
Abstract In this essay we outline how video-related technology can be used as a tool for studying animal behaviour. We review particular aspects of novel, innovative animal behaviour uploaded by the general public via video-based media on the internet (using YouTube as a specific example). The behaviour of animals, particularly the play behaviour focused on here, is viewed by huge audiences. In this essay we focused on three different kinds of media clips: (1) interspecies play between dogs and a range of other species; (2) object play in horses; and (3) animal responses to stimuli presented on iPads, iPods and iPhones. We argue that the use of video is a good means of capturing uncommon or previously unknown behaviour, providing evidence that these behaviours occur. Furthermore, some of the behaviours featured on YouTube provide valuable insights for future directions in animal behaviour research. If we also take this opportunity to convey our knowledge to a public that seems to be fundamentally interested in animal behaviour, this is a good means of bridging the gap between knowledge among an academic few and the general public.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6432
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Author Huber, L.; Gajdon, G.K.
Title Technical intelligence in animals: the kea model Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 295-305
Keywords Animals; *Comprehension; *Intelligence; Models, Psychological; Observation; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Psychological Theory; Social Environment; *Tool Use Behavior
Abstract The ability to act on information flexibly is one of the cornerstones of intelligent behavior. As particularly informative example, tool-oriented behavior has been investigated to determine to which extent nonhuman animals understand means-end relations, object affordances, and have specific motor skills. Even planning with foresight, goal-directed problem solving and immediate causal inference have been a focus of research. However, these cognitive abilities may not be restricted to tool-using animals but may be found also in animals that show high levels of curiosity, object exploration and manipulation, and extractive foraging behavior. The kea, a New Zealand parrot, is a particularly good example. We here review findings from laboratory experiments and field observations of keas revealing surprising cognitive capacities in the physical domain. In an experiment with captive keas, the success rate of individuals that were allowed to observe a trained conspecific was significantly higher than that of naive control subjects due to their acquisition of some functional understanding of the task through observation. In a further experiment using the string-pulling task, a well-probed test for means-end comprehension, we found the keas finding an immediate solution that could not be improved upon in nine further trials. We interpreted their performance as insightful in the sense of being sensitive of the relevant functional properties of the task and thereby producing a new adaptive response without trial-and-error learning. Together, these findings contribute to the ongoing debate on the distribution of higher cognitive skills in the animal kingdom by showing high levels of sensorimotor intelligence in animals that do not use tools. In conclusion, we suggest that the 'Technical intelligence hypothesis' (Byrne, Machiavellian intelligence II: extensions and evaluations, pp 289-211, 1997), which has been proposed to explain the origin of the ape/monkey grade-shift in intelligence by a selection pressure upon an increased efficiency in foraging behavior, should be extended, that is, applied to some birds as well.
Address Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria. ludwig.huber@univie.ac.at
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16909237 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2085
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Author Hampton, R.R.; Zivin, A.; Murray, E.A.
Title Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) discriminate between knowing and not knowing and collect information as needed before acting Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages 239-246
Keywords Animals; Association Learning; *Awareness; Choice Behavior; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; Male; *Memory, Short-Term; Observation
Abstract Humans use memory awareness to determine whether relevant knowledge is available before acting, as when we determine whether we know a phone number before dialing. Such metacognition, or thinking about thinking, can improve selection of appropriate behavior. We investigated whether rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta) are capable of a simple form of metacognitive access to the contents of short-term memory. Monkeys chose among four opaque tubes, one of which concealed food. The tube containing the reward varied randomly from trial to trial. On half the trials the monkeys observed the experimenter baiting the tube, whereas on the remaining trials their view of the baiting was blocked. On each trial, monkeys were allowed a single chance to select the tube containing the reward. During the choice period the monkeys had the opportunity to look down the length of each tube, to determine if it contained food. When they knew the location of the reward, most monkeys chose without looking. In contrast, when ignorant, monkeys often made the effort required to look, thereby learning the location of the reward before choosing. Looking improved accuracy on trials on which monkeys had not observed the baiting. The difference in looking behavior between trials on which the monkeys knew, and trials on which they were ignorant, suggests that rhesus monkeys discriminate between knowing and not knowing. This result extends similar observations made of children and apes to a species of Old World monkey, suggesting that the underlying cognitive capacities may be widely distributed among primates.
Address Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA. robert@ln.nimh.nih.gov
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15105996 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2525
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Author Lindberg, A.C.; Kelland, A.; Nicol, C.J.
Title Effects of observational learning on acquisition of an operant response in horses Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication (up) Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 61 Issue 3 Pages 187-199
Keywords Horse; Observational learning; Stereotyped behaviour; Operant behaviour; Breed influence; Age influence
Abstract The effect of observational learning on the acquisition of an operant response was examined in eighteen riding horses and ponies. The test horses were randomly divided into three groups of six and individually exposed to one of three treatments. An additional horse was trained as a demonstrator, to perform the operant response. The observer horses watched either the demonstrator performing the bin-opening response (Group D+B); the demonstrator standing passively (Group D); or the operant bin in the absence of the demonstrator (Group B). Observers had access to and were free to interact with an identical bin during testing. Observers in Groups D+B and D were socially familiar with the demonstrator. Each test horse was tested once a day for 10 days. An ANOVA revealed no significant differences between treatment groups in the number of responses or the time taken to reach the learning criterion. However, there were highly significant differences between breed types, with non-warmbloods performing more bouts of opening the bin and feeding (p=0.02), feeding from the bin sooner (p=0.01) and reaching the criterion for learning sooner than warmbloods (p=0.05). There was also a significant negative linear relationship between horses' ages and time spent investigating the bin, with younger horses performing more investigative behaviour (y=-3.08x+106.86; p=0.02).
Address
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 562
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Author Clarke, J.V.; Nicol, C.J.; Jones, R.; McGreevy, P.D.
Title Effects of observational learning on food selection in horses Type Journal Article
Year 1996 Publication (up) Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 50 Issue 2 Pages 177-184
Keywords Horse; Observational learning; Food discrimination
Abstract Fourteen riding horses of mixed age and breed were randomly allocated to observer and control treatments. An additional horse was pre-trained as a demonstrator to walk the 13.8 m length of the test arena and select one of two food buckets using colour and pattern cues. Observer horses were exposed to correct performances of the task by the trained demonstrator, for 20 trials held over 2 days. Control horses were subjected to the same handling and placement procedures as the observer horses but without exposure to the behaviour of the demonstrator. The third day for all subjects was designated as a test day. Each subject was released individually in a predetermined place in the arena, and the latency to walk the length of the test arena to the food buckets, the latency to feed, the identity of the bucket approached and the identity of the bucket selected were recorded on ten consecutive trials. During tests both food buckets contained food to minimize the possibility of individual trial and error learning. On the first trial the mean latency to approach the goal area was 18 s for observer horses, compared with 119 s for control horses (t = 2.8, d.f. = 12, P < 0.01) and the mean latency to eat was 35 s for observer horses, compared with 181 s for control horses (t = 4.86, d.f. = 11, P < 0.001). However, observer horses were no more likely to choose the demonstrated bucket than control horses on the first trial. Twelve of the 14 horses decreased their latency to approach the goal area during the series of ten trials, but there were no significant changes in the buckets selected.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 563
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Author Hogue, M.-E.; Beaugrand, J.P.; Lague, P.C.
Title Coherent use of information by hens observing their former dominant defeating or being defeated by a stranger Type Journal Article
Year 1996 Publication (up) Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 38 Issue 3 Pages 241-252
Keywords Domestic fowl; Dominance; Hierarchy formation; Observation; Transitive inference
Abstract This study examines the role of observation during the formation of triads in female domestic hens. Results indicate that during hierarchy formation, a hen observing agonistic interactions and conflict settlement between its former dominant and a stranger uses this information when in turn confronted by the latter. Under a first condition (E, N = 15 triads), bystanders witnessed their prior dominant being defeated by a stranger before being introduced to them. In a second condition (C1, N = 16 triads), bystanders witnessed the victory of their prior dominant over a stranger. In a third condition (C2, N = 15 triads), bystanders witnessed two strangers establishing a dominance relationship before being introduced to their prior dominant and to a stranger the former had just defeated. The behavioural strategies of bystanders depended on the issue of the conflict they had witnessed. Bystanders of the E condition behaved as having no chance of defeating the stranger. They never initiated an attack against it, and upon being attacked, readily submitted in turn to the stranger. On the contrary, bystanders of the C1 condition behaved as having some chances against the stranger. They initiated attacks in 50% of cases, and won 50% of conflicts against the stranger. Under condition C2, bystanders first initiated contact with the strangers in only 27% of cases, which approximates the average of their chances for defeating the stranger. However, bystanders finally defeated the strangers in 40% of cases. These results suggest that bystanders of conditions E and C1 gained some information on the relationship existing between their prior dominant and the stranger and that they used it coherently, perhaps through transitive inference, thus contributing to the existence of transitive relationships within the triads. Alternate explanations are examined.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 396
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Author Silk, J.; Cheney, D.; Seyfarth, R.
Title A practical guide to the study of social relationships Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication (up) Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews Abbreviated Journal Evol. Anthropol.
Volume 22 Issue 5 Pages 213-225
Keywords observational methods; behavioral analysis; methods; dyadic relationships; social bonds
Abstract Behavioral ecologists have devoted considerable effort to identifying the sources of variation in individual reproductive success. Much of this work has focused on the characteristics of individuals, such as their sex and rank. However, many animals live in stable social groups and the fitness of individuals depends at least in part on the outcome of their interactions with other group members. For example, in many primate species, high dominance rank enhances access to resources and reproductive success. The ability to acquire and maintain high rank often depends on the availability and effectiveness of coalitionary support. Allies may be cultivated and coalitions may be reinforced by affiliative interactions such as grooming, food sharing, and tolerance. These findings suggest that if we want to understand the selective pressures that shape the social behavior of primates, it will be profitable to broaden our focus from the characteristics of individuals to the properties of the relationships that they form with others. The goal of this paper is to discuss a set of methods that can be used to quantify the properties of social relationships.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1520-6505 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5748
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