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Author |
Gruber, T.; Clay, Z.; Zuberbühler, K. |
Title |
A comparison of bonobo and chimpanzee tool use: evidence for a female bias in the Pan lineage |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
80 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
1023-1033 |
Keywords |
culture; great ape; neoteny; Pan; primate evolution; sex difference; tool use |
Abstract |
Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, are the most sophisticated tool-users among all nonhuman primates. From an evolutionary perspective, it is therefore puzzling that the tool use behaviour of their closest living primate relative, the bonobo, Pan paniscus, has been described as particularly poor. However, only a small number of bonobo groups have been studied in the wild and only over comparably short periods. Here, we show that captive bonobos and chimpanzees are equally diverse tool-users in most contexts. Our observations illustrate that tool use in bonobos can be highly complex and no different from what has been described for chimpanzees. The only major difference in the chimpanzee and bonobo data was that bonobos of all age–sex classes used tools in a play context, a possible manifestation of their neotenous nature. We also found that female bonobos displayed a larger range of tool use behaviours than males, a pattern previously described for chimpanzees but not for other great apes. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the female-biased tool use evolved prior to the split between bonobos and chimpanzees. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5856 |
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Author |
Lonsdorf, E.V.; Ross, S.R.; Linick, S.A.; Milstein, M.S.; Melber, T.N. |
Title |
An experimental, comparative investigation of tool use in chimpanzees and gorillas |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
77 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
1119-1126 |
Keywords |
chimpanzee; gorilla; Gorilla gorilla gorilla; Pan troglodytes; social structure; tool use |
Abstract |
Studies of ape tool use have been conducted in captivity since the early 1900s and in the wild since the 1960s. Chimpanzees are the most prolific tool users among the apes, and are known to use more tools than any other nonhuman animal. In contrast, reports of gorilla tool use are rare both in wild and captive settings. Studies of the processes involved in tool use learning have been limited in the wild by the lack of ability to control several unpredictable variables, and in captivity by tool use opportunities that are often presented in non-naturalistic contexts. We attempted to address both of these limitations by providing naïve subjects with a naturalistic tool use device (built to simulate a termite mound) while housed in a more natural social setting to approximate how learning would occur in the wild. Both gorillas and chimpanzees participated in the experiment to allow comparative analyses of acquisition of tool behaviour and the factors that may affect acquisition. Both species showed low frequencies of interaction with the mound in the baseline condition, before baiting with a food reward. Once baited, chimpanzees both attempted and succeeded to extract the reward more quickly than did gorillas. The number of social group members at the mound was significantly higher for chimpanzees than for gorillas and may have affected skill acquisition. We advocate that comparative approaches to skill acquisition and learning are valuable, but that researchers need to be cognizant of species differences in social structure that may affect results. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5858 |
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Author |
Amant, R. St.; Horton, T.E. |
Title |
Revisiting the definition of animal tool use |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
75 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
1199-1208 |
Keywords |
cognition; tool use |
Abstract |
Benjamin Beck's definition of tool use has served the field of animal cognition well for over 25 years (Beck 1980, Animal Tool Behavior: the Use and Manufacture of Tools, New York, Garland STPM). This article proposes a new, more explanatory definition that accounts for tool use in terms of two complementary subcategories of behaviours: behaviours aimed at altering a target object by mechanical means and behaviours that mediate the flow of information between the tool user and the environment or other organisms in the environment. The conceptual foundation and implications of the new definition are contrasted with those of existing definitions, particularly Beck's. The new definition is informally evaluated with respect to a set of scenarios that highlights differences from Beck's definition as well as those of others in the literature. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5861 |
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Author |
Huber, L.; Gajdon, G.K. |
Title |
Technical intelligence in animals: the kea model |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
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. |
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Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria. ludwig.huber@univie.ac.at |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16909237 |
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Serial |
2085 |
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Author |
Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A. |
Title |
A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) creatively re-designs tools by bending or unbending aluminium strips |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
317-334 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Comprehension; *Crows; Female; Learning; *Motor Skills; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior |
Abstract |
Previous observations of a New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) spontaneously bending wire and using it as a hook [Weir et al. (2002) Science 297:981] have prompted questions about the extent to which these animals 'understand' the physical causality involved in how hooks work and how to make them. To approach this issue we examine how the same subject (“Betty”) performed in three experiments with novel material, which needed to be either bent or unbent in order to function to retrieve food. These tasks exclude the possibility of success by repetition of patterns of movement similar to those employed before. Betty quickly developed novel techniques to bend the material, and appropriately modified it on four of five trials when unbending was required. She did not mechanically apply a previously learned set of movements to the new situations, and instead sought new solutions to each problem. However, the details of her behaviour preclude concluding definitely that she understood and planned her actions: in some cases she probed with the unmodified tools before modifying them, or attempted to use the unmodified (unsuitable) end of the tool after modification. Gauging New Caledonian crows' level of understanding is not yet possible, but the observed behaviour is consistent with a partial understanding of physical tasks at a level that exceeds that previously attained by any other non-human subject, including apes. |
Address |
Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. alex.weir@magdalen.oxon.org |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17024509 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2436 |
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Author |
Watanabe, S.; Troje, N.F. |
Title |
Towards a “virtual pigeon”: a new technique for investigating avian social perception |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
271-279 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavioral Research/instrumentation/methods; Columbidae/*physiology; Computer Graphics; *Computer Simulation; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Generalization (Psychology)/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Perceptual Masking/physiology; Rats; Recognition (Psychology)/physiology; *Social Behavior; User-Computer Interface |
Abstract |
The purpose of the present study is to examine the applicability of a computer-generated, virtual animal to study animal cognition. Pigeons were trained to discriminate between movies of a real pigeon and a rat. Then, they were tested with movies of the computer-generated (CG) pigeon. Subjects showed generalization to the CG pigeon, however, they also responded to modified versions in which the CG pigeon was showing impossible movement, namely hopping and walking without its head bobbing. Hence, the pigeons did not attend to these particular details of the display. When they were trained to discriminate between the normal and the modified version of the CG pigeon, they were able to learn the discrimination. The results of an additional partial occlusion test suggest that the subjects used head movement as a cue for the usual vs. unusual CG pigeon discrimination. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, Keio University, Mita 2-15-45, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108, Japan. swat@flet.keio.ac.jp |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17024508 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2437 |
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Author |
Hunt, G.R.; Rutledge, R.B.; Gray, R.D. |
Title |
The right tool for the job: what strategies do wild New Caledonian crows use? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
307-316 |
Keywords |
Analysis of Variance; Animals; Comprehension; *Crows; Female; *Intelligence; Male; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior |
Abstract |
New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides (NC crows) display sophisticated tool manufacture in the wild, but the cognitive strategy underlying these skills is poorly understood. Here, we investigate what strategy two free-living NC crows used in response to a tool-length task. The crows manufactured tools to extract food from vertical holes of different depths. The first tools they made in visits were of a similar length regardless of the hole depth. The typical length was usually too short to extract food from the deep holes, which ruled out a strategy of immediate causal inference on the first attempt in a trial. When the first tool failed, the crows made second tools significantly longer than the unsuccessful first tools. There was no evidence that the crows made the lengths of first tools to directly match hole depth. We argue that NC crows may generally use a two-stage heuristic strategy to solve tool problems and that performance on the first attempt in a trial is not necessarily the 'gold standard' for assessing folk physics. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. grhunt10@hotmail.com |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16941156 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2442 |
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Author |
Sturz, B.R.; Bodily, K.D.; Katz, J.S. |
Title |
Evidence against integration of spatial maps in humans |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
207-217 |
Keywords |
Adult; *Association Learning; Computer Graphics; Humans; Male; *Orientation; *Problem Solving; Reference Values; *Space Perception; *Spatial Behavior; User-Computer Interface |
Abstract |
A dynamic 3-D virtual environment was constructed for humans as an open-field analogue of Blaisdell and Cook's (2005) pigeon foraging task to determine if humans, like pigeons, were capable of integrating separate spatial maps. Participants used keyboard keys and a mouse to search for a hidden goal in a 4x4 grid of raised cups. During Phase 1 training, a goal was consistently located between two landmarks (Map 1: blue T and red L). During Phase 2 training, a goal was consistently located down and left of a single landmark (Map 2: blue T). Transfer trials were then conducted in which participants were required to make choices in the presence of the red L alone. Cup choices during transfer assessed participants' strategies: association (from Map 1), generalization (from Map 2), or integration (combining Map 1 and 2). During transfer, cup choices increased to a location which suggested an integration strategy and was consistent with results obtained with pigeons. However, additional analyses of the human data suggested participants initially used a generalization strategy followed by a progressive shift in search behavior away from the red L. This shift in search behavior during transfer was responsible for the changes in cup choices across transfer trials and was confirmed by a control condition. These new analyses offer an alternative explanation to the spatial integration account proposed for pigeons. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA. sturzbr@auburn.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16767470 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2464 |
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Author |
Fragaszy, D.; Johnson-Pynn, J.; Hirsh, E.; Brakke, K. |
Title |
Strategic navigation of two-dimensional alley mazes: comparing capuchin monkeys and chimpanzees |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
149-160 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cebus/*physiology; Choice Behavior/*physiology; Computer Peripherals; Female; Male; Maze Learning/*physiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology; Species Specificity; User-Computer Interface |
Abstract |
Planning is an important component of cognition that contributes, for example, to efficient movement through space. In the current study we presented novel two-dimensional alley mazes to four chimpanzees and three capuchin monkeys to identify the nature and efficiency of planning in relation to varying task parameters. All the subjects solved more mazes without error than expected by chance, providing compelling evidence that both species planned their choices in some manner. The probability of making a correct choice on mazes designed to be more demanding and presented later in the testing series was higher than on earlier, simpler mazes (chimpanzees), or unchanged (capuchin monkeys), suggesting microdevelopment of strategic choice. Structural properties of the mazes affected both species' choices. Capuchin monkeys were less likely than chimpanzees to take a correct path that initially led away from the goal but that eventually led to the goal. Chimpanzees were more likely to make an error by passing a correct path than by turning onto a wrong path. Chimpanzees and one capuchin made more errors on choices farther in sequence from the goal. Each species corrected errors before running into the end of an alley in approximately 40% of cases. Together, these findings suggest nascent planning abilities in each species, and the prospect for significant development of strategic planning capabilities on tasks presenting multiple simultaneous or sequential spatial relations. The computerized maze paradigm appears well suited to investigate movement planning and spatial perception in human and nonhuman primates alike. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. doree@arches.uga.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12955584 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2557 |
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Author |
Leighty, K.A.; Fragaszy, D.M. |
Title |
Primates in cyberspace: using interactive computer tasks to study perception and action in nonhuman animals |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
137-139 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Perception; *Primates; *Task Performance and Analysis; *User-Computer Interface |
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Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA. kleighty@uga.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12884077 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2563 |
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