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Author |
Meyer, S.; Nürnberg, G.; Puppe, B.; Langbein, J. |
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Title |
The cognitive capabilities of farm animals: categorisation learning in dwarf goats (Capra hircus) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
15 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
567-576 |
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Keywords |
Biomedizin & Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
The ability to establish categories enables organisms to classify stimuli, objects and events by assessing perceptual, associative or rational similarities and provides the basis for higher cognitive processing. The cognitive capabilities of farm animals are receiving increasing attention in applied ethology, a development driven primarily by scientifically based efforts to improve animal welfare. The present study investigated the learning of perceptual categories in Nigerian dwarf goats ( Capra hircus ) by using an automated learning device installed in the animals’ pen. Thirteen group-housed goats were trained in a closed-economy approach to discriminate artificial two-dimensional symbols presented in a four-choice design. The symbols belonged to two categories: category I, black symbols with an open centre (rewarded) and category II, the same symbols but filled black (unrewarded). One symbol from category I and three different symbols from category II were used to define a discrimination problem. After the training of eight problems, the animals were presented with a transfer series containing the training problems interspersed with completely new problems made from new symbols belonging to the same categories. The results clearly demonstrate that dwarf goats are able to form categories based on similarities in the visual appearance of artificial symbols and to generalise across new symbols. However, the goats had difficulties in discriminating specific symbols. It is probable that perceptual problems caused these difficulties. Nevertheless, the present study suggests that goats housed under farming conditions have well-developed cognitive abilities, including learning of open-ended categories. This result could prove beneficial by facilitating animals’ adaptation to housing environments that favour their cognitive capabilities. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5615 |
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Author |
Kaminski, G.; Gentaz, E.; Mazens, K. |
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Title |
Development of children’s ability to detect kinship through facial resemblance |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
15 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
421-427 |
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Keywords |
Biomedizin & Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Facial features appear to be a prominent kinship cue for ascribing relatedness among human individuals. Although there is evidence that adults can detect kinship in unrelated and unfamiliar individual’s faces, it remains to be seen whether people already possess the ability when they are young. To further understand the development of this skill, we explored children’s ability to detect parent-offspring resemblance in unrelated and unfamiliar faces. To this end, we tested approximately 140 children, aged 5–11, in two photo-matching tasks. We used a procedure that asked them to match one neonate’s face to one of three adults’ faces (Task 1), or to match one adult’s face to one of three neonate’s faces (Task 2). Our findings reveal asymmetrical performance, depending on the tasks assigned (performance of Task 2 is stronger than for Task 1), and on the sex of individuals who made up the parent-offspring pair (male parents are better matched with neonates than female parents, and boys are better matched than girls). The picture that emerges from our study is, on one hand, that the ability to detect kinship is already present at the age of five but continues to improve as one gets older, and on the other, that perception of parent-offspring facial resemblance varies according to the appraisers’ characteristics. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5605 |
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MacLean, E.; Matthews, L.; Hare, B.; Nunn, C.; Anderson, R.; Aureli, F.; Brannon, E.; Call, J.; Drea, C.; Emery, N.; Haun, D.; Herrmann, E.; Jacobs, L.; Platt, M.; Rosati, A.; Sandel, A.; Schroepfer, K.; Seed, A.; Tan, J.; van Schaik, C.; Wobber, V. |
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Title |
How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
15 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
223-238 |
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Biomedizin & Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Now more than ever animal studies have the potential to test hypotheses regarding how cognition evolves. Comparative psychologists have developed new techniques to probe the cognitive mechanisms underlying animal behavior, and they have become increasingly skillful at adapting methodologies to test multiple species. Meanwhile, evolutionary biologists have generated quantitative approaches to investigate the phylogenetic distribution and function of phenotypic traits, including cognition. In particular, phylogenetic methods can quantitatively (1) test whether specific cognitive abilities are correlated with life history (e.g., lifespan), morphology (e.g., brain size), or socio-ecological variables (e.g., social system), (2) measure how strongly phylogenetic relatedness predicts the distribution of cognitive skills across species, and (3) estimate the ancestral state of a given cognitive trait using measures of cognitive performance from extant species. Phylogenetic methods can also be used to guide the selection of species comparisons that offer the strongest tests of a priori predictions of cognitive evolutionary hypotheses (i.e., phylogenetic targeting). Here, we explain how an integration of comparative psychology and evolutionary biology will answer a host of questions regarding the phylogenetic distribution and history of cognitive traits, as well as the evolutionary processes that drove their evolution. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5604 |
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Author |
Hobaiter, C.; Byrne, R. |
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Title |
The gestural repertoire of the wild chimpanzee |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
14 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
745-767 |
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Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Great ape gestural communication is known to be intentional, elaborate and flexible; yet there is controversy over the best interpretation of the system and how gestures are acquired, perhaps because most studies have been made in restricted, captive settings. Here, we report the first systematic analysis of gesture in a population of wild chimpanzees. Over 266 days of observation, we recorded 4,397 cases of intentional gesture use in the Sonso community, Budongo, Uganda. We describe 66 distinct gesture types: this estimate appears close to asymptote, and the Sonso repertoire includes most gestures described informally at other sites. Differences in repertoire were noted between individuals and age classes, but in both cases, the measured repertoire size was predicted by the time subjects were observed gesturing. No idiosyncratic usages were found, i.e. no gesture type was used only by one individual. No support was found for the idea that gestures are acquired by ‘ontogenetic ritualization’ from originally effective actions; moreover, in detailed analyses of two gestures, action elements composing the gestures did not closely match those of the presumed original actions. Rather, chimpanzee gestures are species-typical; indeed, many are ‘family-typical’, because gesture types recorded in gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzee overlap extensively, with 24 gestures recorded in all three genera. Nevertheless, chimpanzee gestures are used flexibly across a range of contexts and show clear adjustment to audience (e.g. silent gestures for attentive targets, contact gestures for inattentive ones). Such highly intentional use of a species-typical repertoire raises intriguing questions for the evolution of advanced communication. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5585 |
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Author |
Verdolin, J. |
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Title |
Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni): testing the resource dispersion hypothesis |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Beh. Ecol. Sociobiol. |
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Volume |
63 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
789-799 |
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Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Few studies have experimentally tested the resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH). In this study, I tested whether space use and social organization of Gunnison’s prairie dog responded to changes in the dispersion and abundance of resources. Food manipulations were carried out during the reproductive and nonreproductive seasons across 2 years. Gunnison’s prairie dog adults responded to the experiments by decreasing territory size as food became patchier in space and time. Both males and females modified their home ranges, with no detectable difference between sexes, either prior to or during the experiments. As food became patchier in space and time, the spatial overlap of adults increased, whereas it decreased as food became more evenly dispersed. The average size of a group, defined as those individuals occupying the same territory, did not change significantly as a result of the experiments. Where changes in the composition and size of groups did occur, there was no indication that such changes were sex specific. Results from this study support critical components of the RDH and strongly suggest that patterns of space use and social structure in Gunnison’s prairie dogs are the result of individual responses to resource abundance and distribution. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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0340-5443 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5468 |
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Author |
Slobodchikoff, C.; Paseka, A.; Verdolin, J. |
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Title |
Prairie dog alarm calls encode labels about predator colors |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
12 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
435-439 |
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Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Some animals have the cognitive capacity to differentiate between different species of predators and generate different alarm calls in response. However, the presence of any addition information that might be encoded into alarm calls has been largely unexplored. In the present study, three similar-sized human females walked through a Gunnison’s prairie dog ( Cynomys gunnisoni ) colony wearing each of three different-colored shirts: blue, green, and yellow. We recorded the alarm calls and used discriminant function analysis to assess whether the calls for the different-colored shirts were significantly different. The results showed that the alarm calls for the blue and the yellow shirts were significantly different, but the green shirt calls were not significantly different from the calls for the yellow shirt. The colors that were detected, with corresponding encoding into alarm calls, reflect the visual perceptual abilities of the prairie dogs. This study suggests that prairie dogs are able to incorporate labels about the individual characteristics of predators into their alarm calls, and that the complexity of information contained in animal alarm calls may be greater than has been previously believed. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5467 |
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Author |
Gaunet, F.; Deputte, B. |
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Title |
Functionally referential and intentional communication in the domestic dog: effects of spatial and social contexts |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
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Volume |
14 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
849-860 |
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Keywords |
Biomedizin & Life Sciences |
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In apes, four criteria are set to explore referential and intentional communication: (1) successive visual orienting between a partner and distant targets, (2) the presence of apparent attention-getting behaviours, (3) the requirement of an audience to exhibit the behaviours, and (4) the influence of the direction of attention of an observer on the behaviours. The present study aimed at identifying these criteria in behaviours used by dogs in communicative episodes with their owner when their toy is out of reach, i.e. gaze at a hidden target or at the owner, gaze alternation between a hidden target and the owner, vocalisations and contacts. In this study, an additional variable was analysed: the position of the dog in relation to the location of the target. Dogs witnessed the hiding of a favourite toy, in a place where they could not get access to. We analysed how dogs engaged in communicative deictic behaviours in the presence of their owner; four heights of the target were tested. To control for the motivational effects of the toy on the dogs’ behaviour and for the referential nature of the behaviours, observations were staged where only the toy or only the owner was present, for one of the four heights. The results show that gazing at the container and gaze alternation were used as functionally referential and intentional communicative behaviours. Behavioural patterns of dog position, the new variable, fulfilled the operational criteria for functionally referential behaviour and a subset of operational criteria for intentional communication: the dogs used their own position as a local enhancement signal. Finally, our results suggest that the dogs gazed at their owner at optimal locations in the experimental area, with respect to the target height and their owner’s (or their own) line of gaze. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5427 |
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Author |
Hobaiter, C.; Byrne, R. |
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Title |
Serial gesturing by wild chimpanzees: its nature and function for communication |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
14 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
827-838 |
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Biomedizin & Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Chimpanzees at Budongo, Uganda, regularly gesture in series, including ‘bouts’ of gesturing that include response waiting and ‘sequences’ of rapid-fire gesturing without pauses. We examined the distribution and correlates of 723 sequences and 504 bouts for clues to the function of multigesture series. Gesturing by older chimpanzees was more likely to be successful, but the success rate of any particular gesture did not vary with signaller age. Rather, older individuals were more likely to choose successful gestures, and these highly successful gestures were more often used singly. These patterns explain why bouts were recorded most in younger animals, whereas older chimpanzees relied more on single gestures: bouts are best interpreted as a consequence of persistence in the face of failure. When at least one gesture of a successful type occurred in a sequence, that sequence was more likely to be successful; overall, however, sequences were less successful than single gestures. We suggest that young chimpanzees use sequences as a ‘fail-safe’ strategy: because they have the innate potential to produce a large and redundant repertoire of gestures but lack knowledge of which of them would be most efficient. Using sequences increases the chance of giving one effective gesture and also allows users to learn the most effective types. As they do so, they need to use sequences less; sequences may remain important for subtle interpersonal adjustment, especially in play. This ‘Repertoire Tuning’ hypothesis explains a number of results previously reported from chimpanzee gesturing. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5426 |
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Author |
Powell, D. |
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Title |
Female–female competition or male mate choice? Patterns of courtship and breeding behavior among feral horses (Equus caballus) on Assateague Island |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2008 |
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Journal of Ethology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Ethol. |
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26 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
137-144-144 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
Previous research on the Assateague horses found that high-ranking females had more surviving offspring than low-ranking females. Variance in reproductive success may be the result of a variety of proximate processes that affect sexual behavior such as mate choice and mate competition. A study was done to determine whether patterns of courtship, social, and sexual behavior could be identified that would suggest mate choice and/or mate competition. Behavioral data were collected from approximately 40 sexually mature mares living in harem bands. Stallions showed more interest in the eliminations of dominant mares than subordinate mares. Males also engaged in significantly more high-intensity (e.g., mounts and copulations) sexual behavior with dominant mares than subordinate mares, and there was a trend for males to engage in more low-intensity (e.g., flehmen and ano-genital sniffing) sexual behavior with dominant mares than subordinate mares. There was no effect of mare rank on spatial relationships with the stallion; however, dominant mares did attempt to restrict reproductive access to the stallion by harassing and disrupting copulations. Higher foaling rates among dominant mares on Assateague Island could therefore be the result of rank-related mate choice by stallions and direct female competition for mating opportunities. |
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Springer Japan |
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0289-0771 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5412 |
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Author |
Noë, R.; Hammerstein, P. |
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Title |
Biological markets: supply and demand determine the effect of partner choice in cooperation, mutualism and mating |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
1994 |
Publication |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. |
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Volume |
35 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-11 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Abstract |
The formation of collaborating pairs by individuals belonging to two different classes occurs in the contexts of reproduction and intea-specific cooperation as well as of inter-specific mutualism. There is potential for partner choice and for competition for access to preferred partners in all three contexts. These selective forces have long been recognised as important in sexual selection, but their impact is not yet appreciated in cooperative and mutualistic systems. The formation of partnerships between members of different classes has much in common with the conclusion of trade agreements in human markets with two classes of traders, like producers and consumers, or employers and employees. Similar game-theoretical models can be used to predict the behaviour of rational traders in human markets and the evolutionarily stable strategies used in biological markets. We present a formal model in which the influence of the market mechanism on selection is made explicit. We restrict ourselves to biological markets in which: (1) Individuals do not compete over access to partners in an agonistic manner, but rather by outcompeting each other in those aspects that are preferred by the choosing party. (2) The commodity the partner has to offer cannot be obtained by the use of force, but requires the consent of the partner. These two restrictions ensure a dominant role for partner choice in the formation of partnerships. In a biological market model the decision to cooperate is based on the comparison between the offers of several potential partners, rather than on the behaviour of a single potential partner, as is implicitly assumed in currently accepted models of cooperation. In our example the members of one class A offer a commodity of fixed value in exchange for a commodity of variable value supplied by the other class, B. We show that when the B-class outnumbers the A-class sufficiently and the cost for the A-class to sample the offers of the B-class are low, the choosiness of the A-class will lead to selection for the supply of high value commodities by the B-class (Fig. 3a). Under the same market conditions, but with a high sampling cost this may still be the evolutionariy stable outcome, but another pair of strategies proves to be stable too: relaxed choosiness of class A coupled with low value commodities supplied by class B (Fig. 3b). We give a number of examples of mating, cooperative and mutualistic markets that resemble the low sampling cost situation depicted in Fig. 3a. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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0340-5443 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5404 |
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