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Author Flack, J.C.; Girvan, M.; de Waal, F.B.M.; Krakauer, D.C.
Title Policing stabilizes construction of social niches in primates Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 439 Issue 7075 Pages 426-429
Keywords Animals; Conflict (Psychology); Female; Macaca nemestrina/*physiology/*psychology; Male; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior
Abstract All organisms interact with their environment, and in doing so shape it, modifying resource availability. Termed niche construction, this process has been studied primarily at the ecological level with an emphasis on the consequences of construction across generations. We focus on the behavioural process of construction within a single generation, identifying the role a robustness mechanism--conflict management--has in promoting interactions that build social resource networks or social niches. Using 'knockout' experiments on a large, captive group of pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina), we show that a policing function, performed infrequently by a small subset of individuals, significantly contributes to maintaining stable resource networks in the face of chronic perturbations that arise through conflict. When policing is absent, social niches destabilize, with group members building smaller, less diverse, and less integrated grooming, play, proximity and contact-sitting networks. Instability is quantified in terms of reduced mean degree, increased clustering, reduced reach, and increased assortativity. Policing not only controls conflict, we find it significantly influences the structure of networks that constitute essential social resources in gregarious primate societies. The structure of such networks plays a critical role in infant survivorship, emergence and spread of cooperative behaviour, social learning and cultural traditions.
Address Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA. jflack@santafe.edu
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:16437106 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 298
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Author Agrillo, C.; Dadda, M.; Bisazza, A.
Title Quantity discrimination in female mosquitofish Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 63-70
Keywords Animals; Cognition; *Cyprinodontiformes; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Male; Mathematics; *Pattern Recognition, Visual
Abstract The ability in animals to count and represent different numbers of objects has received a great deal of attention in the past few decades. Cumulative evidence from comparative studies on number discriminations report obvious analogies among human babies, non-human primates and birds and are consistent with the hypothesis of two distinct and widespread mechanisms, one for counting small numbers (<4) precisely, and one for quantifying large numbers approximately. We investigated the ability to discriminate among different numerosities, in a distantly related species, the mosquitofish, by using the spontaneous choice of a gravid female to join large groups of females as protection from a sexually harassing male. In one experiment, we found that females were able to discriminate between two shoals with a 1:2 numerosity ratio (2 vs. 4, 4 vs. 8 and 8 vs. 16 fish) but failed to discriminate a 2:3 ratio (8 vs. 12 fish). In the second experiment, we studied the ability to discriminate between shoals that differed by one element; females were able to select the larger shoal when the paired numbers were 2 vs. 3 or 3 vs. 4 but not 4 vs. 5 or 5 vs. 6. Our study indicates that numerical abilities in fish are comparable with those of other non-verbal creatures studied; results are in agreement with the hypothesis of the existence of two distinct systems for quantity discrimination in vertebrates.
Address Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy. christian.agrillo@unipd.it
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Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:16868736 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 339
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Author Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.
Title Cognitive strategies and the representation of social relations by monkeys Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation Abbreviated Journal Nebr Symp Motiv
Volume 47 Issue Pages 145-177
Keywords Adaptation, Biological; Animals; *Evolution; Family; Female; Haplorhini; Male; Memory; Primates; *Selection (Genetics); *Social Behavior; Social Dominance; *Social Perception
Abstract
Address University of Pennsylvania, USA
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0146-7875 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:11759347 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 345
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Author Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.; Silk, J.B.
Title The responses of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) to anomalous social interactions: evidence for causal reasoning? Type Journal Article
Year 1995 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol
Volume 109 Issue 2 Pages 134-141
Keywords Animals; Attention; Auditory Perception; *Awareness; *Concept Formation; *Dominance-Subordination; Fear; Female; Hierarchy, Social; Papio/*psychology; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Baboons' (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) understanding of cause-effect relations in the context of social interactions was examined through use of a playback experiment. Under natural conditions, dominant female baboons often grunt to more subordinate mothers when interacting with their infants. Mothers occasionally respond to these grunts by uttering submissive fear barks. Subjects were played causally inconsistent call sequences in which a lower ranking female apparently grunted to a higher ranking female, and the higher ranking female apparently responded with fear barks. As a control, subjects heard a sequence made causally consistent by the inclusion of grunts from a 3rd female that was dominant to both of the others. Subjects responded significantly more strongly to the causally inconsistent sequences, suggesting that they recognized the factors that cause 1 individual to give submissive vocalizations to another.
Address Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:7758289 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 348
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Author Cheney, D.; Seyfarth, R.; Smuts, B.
Title Social relationships and social cognition in nonhuman primates Type Journal Article
Year 1986 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science
Volume 234 Issue 4782 Pages 1361-1366
Keywords Animals; *Cognition; Female; Male; Pair Bond; Primates/*physiology; *Social Behavior; Social Dominance; Social Perception
Abstract Complex social relationships among nonhuman primates appear to contribute to individual reproductive success. Experiments with and behavioral observations of natural populations suggest that sophisticated cognitive mechanisms may underlie primate social relationships. Similar capacities are usually less apparent in the nonsocial realm, supporting the view that at least some aspects of primate intelligence evolved to solve the challenges of interacting with conspecifics.
Address
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0036-8075 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:3538419 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 349
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Author Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.; Marler, P.
Title Monkey responses to three different alarm calls: evidence of predator classification and semantic communication Type Journal Article
Year 1980 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science
Volume 210 Issue 4471 Pages 801-803
Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cercopithecidae/*physiology; *Fear; Female; Male; Predatory Behavior; Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Vervet monkeys give different alarm calls to different predators. Recordings of the alarms played back when predators were absent caused the monkeys to run into trees for leopard alarms, look up for eagle alarms, and look down for snake alarms. Adults call primarily to leopards, martial eagles, and pythons, but infants give leopard alarms to various mammals, eagle alarms to many birds, and snake alarms to various snakelike objects. Predator classification improves with age and experience.
Address
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0036-8075 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:7433999 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 351
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Author Paz-y-Miño C. G.; Bond, A.B.; Kamil, A.C.; Balda, R.P.
Title Pinyon jays use transitive inference to predict social dominance Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 430 Issue 7001 Pages 778-781
Keywords Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Group Structure; Male; *Social Dominance; Songbirds/*physiology
Abstract Living in large, stable social groups is often considered to favour the evolution of enhanced cognitive abilities, such as recognizing group members, tracking their social status and inferring relationships among them. An individual's place in the social order can be learned through direct interactions with others, but conflicts can be time-consuming and even injurious. Because the number of possible pairwise interactions increases rapidly with group size, members of large social groups will benefit if they can make judgments about relationships on the basis of indirect evidence. Transitive reasoning should therefore be particularly important for social individuals, allowing assessment of relationships from observations of interactions among others. Although a variety of studies have suggested that transitive inference may be used in social settings, the phenomenon has not been demonstrated under controlled conditions in animals. Here we show that highly social pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) draw sophisticated inferences about their own dominance status relative to that of strangers that they have observed interacting with known individuals. These results directly demonstrate that animals use transitive inference in social settings and imply that such cognitive capabilities are widespread among social species.
Address Center for Avian Cognition, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:15306809 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @; Equine Behaviour @ team @ room B 3.029 Serial 352
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Author Arnold, K.; Zuberbuhler, K.
Title Language evolution: semantic combinations in primate calls Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 441 Issue 7091 Pages 303
Keywords Animal Migration; Animals; Eagles/physiology; *Evolution; Female; Haplorhini/*physiology; Male; Predatory Behavior; *Semantics; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Syntax sets human language apart from other natural communication systems, although its evolutionary origins are obscure. Here we show that free-ranging putty-nosed monkeys combine two vocalizations into different call sequences that are linked to specific external events, such as the presence of a predator and the imminent movement of the group. Our findings indicate that non-human primates can combine calls into higher-order sequences that have a particular meaning.
Address School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:16710411 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 354
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Author Ottoni, E.B.; de Resende, B.D.; Izar, P.
Title Watching the best nutcrackers: what capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) know about others' tool-using skills Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue 4 Pages 215-219
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Cebus/*psychology; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Male; Nuts; *Problem Solving
Abstract The present work is part of a decade-long study on the spontaneous use of stones for cracking hard-shelled nuts by a semi-free-ranging group of brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Nutcracking events are frequently watched by other individuals--usually younger, less proficient, and that are well tolerated to the point of some scrounging being allowed by the nutcracker. Here we report findings showing that the choice of observational targets is an active, non-random process, and that observers seem to have some understanding of the relative proficiency of their group mates, preferentially watching the more skilled nutcrackers, which enhances not only scrounging payoffs, but also social learning opportunities.
Address Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. ebottoni@usp.br
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:15719240 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 355
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Author Gibson, B.M.; Shettleworth, S.J.
Title Place versus response learning revisited: tests of blocking on the radial maze Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Behavioral neuroscience Abbreviated Journal Behav Neurosci
Volume 119 Issue 2 Pages 567-586
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Male; *Maze Learning; Memory; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Reproducibility of Results
Abstract Neurobiological and behavioral research indicates that place learning and response learning occur simultaneously, in parallel. Such findings seem to conflict with theories of associative learning in which different cues compete for learning. The authors conducted place+response training on a radial maze and then tested place learning and response learning separately by reconfiguring the maze in various ways. Consistent with the effects of manipulating place and response systems in the brain (M. G. Packard & J. L. McGaugh, 1996), well-trained rats showed strong place learning and strong response learning. Three experiments using associative blocking paradigms indicated that prior response learning interferes with place learning. Blocking and related tests can be used to better understand how memory systems interact during learning.
Address Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3567, USA. bgibson@cisunix.unh.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 0735-7044 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition (up) Conference
Notes PMID:15839803 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 362
Permanent link to this record