| Records |
| Author |
Lefebvre, L.; Whittle, P.; Lascaris, E.; Finkelstein, A. |
| Title |
Feeding innovations and forebrain size in birds |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1997 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
53 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
549-560 |
| Keywords |
|
Abstract  |
The links between ecology, behavioural plasticity and brain size are often tested via the comparative method. Given the problems in interpretating comparative tests of learning and cognition, however, alternative measures of plasticity need to be developed. From the short notes section of nine ornithological journals, two separate, exhaustive data sets have been collated on opportunistic foraging innovations in birds of North America (1973-1993;N=196) and the British Isles (1983-1993;N=126). Both the absolute and relative frequencies (corrected for species number per order) of innovations differ between bird orders in a similar fashion in the two geographical zones. Absolute and relative frequency of innovations per order are also related to two measures of relative forebrain size in the two zones. The study confirms predicted trends linking opportunism, brain size and rate of structural evolution. It also suggests that innovation rate in the field may be a useful measure of behavioural plasticity. |
| 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 |
4740 |
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
| Author |
Lefebvre, L.; Juretic, N.; Nicolakakis, N.; Timmermans, S. |
| Title |
Is the link between forebrain size and feeding innovations caused by confounding variables? A study of Australian and North American birds |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
4 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
91-97 |
| Keywords |
|
| Abstract |
The short notes of ornithology journals feature new and unusual feeding behaviours, which, when systematically collated, could provide a quantitative estimate of behavioural flexibility in different bird groups. Previous studies suggest that taxonomic variation in the frequency of new behaviours (innovations) is correlated with variation in relative forebrain size. Recent work on primates shows, however, that observer bias can affect innovation frequency. We assess this possibility in birds via three estimates in North America and Australia: the number of full-length papers in academic journals, the frequency of photographs in birding magazines and a questionnaire on reporting bias given to ornithologists at a meeting. We also look at sampling effects due to single journal sources by doing a split-half analysis of our North American database (The Wilson Bulletin vs. six other journals) and adding three new Australian journals to the one we had used previously. In multiple regressions that also included species number per taxon, none of the potential biases could account for the correlation between forebrain size and innovation frequency. Species number was the best predictor of full-length paper frequency, which was the best predictor of photograph numbers. Ornithologists are not preferentially interested in innovative, large-brained taxa, suggesting that the correlation between innovations and neural substrate size is not a spurious effect of the biases examined here. |
| 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 |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
| Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
| Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
3284 |
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
| Author |
Sol, D.; Duncan, R.P.; Blackburn, T.M.; Cassey, P.; Lefebvre, L. |
| Title |
Big brains, enhanced cognition, and response of birds to novel environments |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
102 |
Issue |
15 |
Pages |
5460-5465 |
| Keywords |
|
| Abstract |
The widely held hypothesis that enlarged brains have evolved as an adaptation to cope with novel or altered environmental conditions lacks firm empirical support. Here, we test this hypothesis for a major animal group (birds) by examining whether large-brained species show higher survival than small-brained species when introduced to nonnative locations. Using a global database documenting the outcome of >600 introduction events, we confirm that avian species with larger brains, relative to their body mass, tend to be more successful at establishing themselves in novel environments. Moreover, we provide evidence that larger brains help birds respond to novel conditions by enhancing their innovation propensity rather than indirectly through noncognitive mechanisms. These findings provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that enlarged brains function, and hence may have evolved, to deal with changes in the environment. |
| 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 |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
| Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
| Notes |
10.1073/pnas.0408145102 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4739 |
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
| Author |
Giraldeau, L.-A.; Lefebvre, L.; Morand-Ferron, J. |
| Title |
Can a restrictive definition lead to biases and tautologies? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Behavioral and Brain Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Brain Sci. |
| Volume |
30 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
411-412 |
| Keywords |
|
| Abstract |
We argue that the operational definition proposed by Ramsey et al. does not represent a significant improvement for students of innovation, because it is so restrictive that it might actually prevent the testing of hypotheses on the relationships between innovation, ecology, evolution, culture, and intelligence. To avoid tautological thinking, we need to use an operational definition that is taxonomically unbiased and neutral with respect to the hypotheses to be tested. |
| Address |
|
| Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
| Publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
| Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
| Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
| Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
2007/12/17 |
| ISSN |
0140-525x |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
| Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
| Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
6533 |
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
| Author |
Giraldeau, L.-A.; Lefebvre, L. |
| Title |
Exchangeable producer and scrounger roles in a captive flock of feral pigeons: a case for the skill pool effect |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1986 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
34 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
797-803 |
| Keywords |
|
| Abstract |
We investigated the foraging producer-scrounger system of a captive flock of feral pigeons (Columba livia) by monitoring the number of food patches each individual produced. In one experiment, three different patch types were tested on the whole flock while, in a second, flock composition was varied for one patch type. In all cases we found non-uniform distributions of the number of patches produced per individual, which suggests the existence of producer and scrounger roles. This result could not be explained by either dominance or variability in individual learning ability. Individuals switched roles in response to changes both in food patch type and flock composition. These results are discussed in light of the skill pool hypothesis, which suggests that, in a group, different foraging specialists will profit by parasitizing each other's food discoveries. |
| 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 |
6012 |
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
| Author |
Bouchard, J.; Goodyer, W.; Lefebvre, L. |
| Title |
Social learning and innovation are positively correlated in pigeons (Columba livia) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
259-266 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Columbidae/*physiology; *Learning; *Problem Solving |
| Abstract |
When animals show both frequent innovation and fast social learning, new behaviours can spread more rapidly through populations and potentially increase rates of natural selection and speciation, as proposed by A.C. Wilson in his behavioural drive hypothesis. Comparative work on primates suggests that more innovative species also show more social learning. In this study, we look at intra-specific variation in innovation and social learning in captive wild-caught pigeons. Performances on an innovative problem-solving task and a social learning task are positively correlated in 42 individuals. The correlation remains significant when the effects of neophobia on the two abilities are removed. Neither sex nor dominance rank are associated with performance on the two tasks. Free-flying flocks of urban pigeons are able to solve the innovative food-finding problem used on captive birds, demonstrating it is within the range of their natural capacities. Taken together with the comparative literature, the positive correlation between innovation and social learning suggests that the two abilities are not traded-off. |
| Address |
Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205, Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada |
| 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:17205290 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2425 |
| Permanent link to this record |
