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Tibbetts, E.A. |
Title |
Visual signals of individual identity in the wasp Polistes fuscatus |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2002 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. |
Volume |
269 |
Issue |
1423 |
Pages |
1423-1428 |
Keywords |
hymenoptera; individual-recognition; learning-insect |
Abstract |
Individual recognition is an essential component of interactions in many social systems, but insects are often thought incapable of the sophistication necessary to recognize individuals. If this were true, it would impose limits on the societies that insects could form. For example, queens and workers of the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus form a linear dominance hierarchy that determines how food, work and reproduction are divided within the colony. Such a stable hierarchy would be facilitated if individuals of different ranks have some degree of recognition. P. fuscatus wasps have, to our knowledge, previously undocumented variability in their yellow facial and abdominal markings that are intriguing candidates for signals of individual identity. Here, I describe these highly variable markings and experimentally test whether P. fuscatus queens and workers use these markings to identify individual nest-mates visually. I demonstrate that individuals whose yellow markings are experimentally altered with paint receive more aggression than control wasps who are painted in a way that does not alter their markings. Further, aggression declines towards wasps with experimentally altered markings as these novel markings become familiar to their nestmates. This evidence for individual recognition in P. fuscatus indicates that interactions between insects may be even more complex than previously anticipated.
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ 929 |
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4732 |
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Bugnyar, T. |
Title |
Knower–guesser differentiation in ravens: others' viewpoints matter |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. |
Volume |
278 |
Issue |
1705 |
Pages |
634-640 |
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Differentiating between individuals with different knowledge states is an important step in child development and has been considered as a hallmark in human evolution. Recently, primates and corvids have been reported to pass knower–guesser tasks, raising the possibility of mental attribution skills in non-human animals. Yet, it has been difficult to distinguish ‘mind-reading’ from behaviour-reading alternatives, specifically the use of behavioural cues and/or the application of associatively learned rules. Here, I show that ravens (Corvus corax) observing an experimenter hiding food are capable of predicting the behaviour of bystanders that had been visible at both, none or just one of two caching events. Manipulating the competitors' visual field independently of the view of the test-subject resulted in an instant drop in performance, whereas controls for behavioural cues had no such effect. These findings indicate that ravens not only remember whom they have seen at caching but also take into account that the other's view was blocked. Notably, it does not suffice for the birds to associate specific competitors with specific caches. These results support the idea that certain socio-ecological conditions may select for similar cognitive abilities in distantly related species and that some birds have evolved analogous precursors to a human theory-of-mind. |
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raven; Corvus corax; knowledge attribution; perspective; competitive food retrieval; caching |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5287 |
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Magat, M.; Brown, C. |
Title |
Laterality enhances cognition in Australian parrots |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. |
Volume |
276 |
Issue |
1676 |
Pages |
4155-4162 |
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Cerebral lateralization refers to the division of information processing in either hemisphere of the brain and is a ubiquitous trait among vertebrates and invertebrates. Given its widespread occurrence, it is likely that cerebral lateralization confers a fitness advantage. It has been hypothesized that this advantage takes the form of enhanced cognitive function, potentially via a dual processing mechanism whereby each hemisphere can be used to process specific types of information without contralateral interference. Here, we examined the influence of lateralization on problem solving by Australian parrots. The first task, a pebble-seed discrimination test, was designed for small parrot species that feed predominately on small seeds, which do not require any significant manipulation with the foot prior to ingestion. The second task, a string-pull problem, was designed for larger bodied species that regularly use their feet to manipulate food objects. In both cases, strongly lateralized individuals (those showing significant foot and eye biases) outperformed less strongly lateralized individuals, and this relationship was substantially stronger in the more demanding task. These results suggest that cerebral lateralization is a ubiquitous trait among Australian parrots and conveys a significant foraging advantage. Our results provide strong support for the enhanced cognitive function hypothesis. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5380 |
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Dickens, M.J.; Delehanty, D.J.; Romero, L.M. |
Title |
Stress and translocation: alterations in the stress physiology of translocated birds |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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276 |
Issue |
1664 |
Pages |
2051-2056 |
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Abstract |
Translocation and reintroduction have become major conservation actions in attempts to create self-sustaining wild populations of threatened species. However, avian translocations have a high failure rate and causes for failure are poorly understood. While ‘stress’ is often cited as an important factor in translocation failure, empirical evidence of physiological stress is lacking. Here we show that experimental translocation leads to changes in the physiological stress response in chukar partridge, Alectoris chukar. We found that capture alone significantly decreased the acute glucocorticoid (corticosterone, CORT) response, but adding exposure to captivity and transport further altered the stress response axis (the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis) as evident from a decreased sensitivity of the negative feedback system. Animals that were exposed to the entire translocation procedure, in addition to the reduced acute stress response and disrupted negative feedback, had significantly lower baseline CORT concentrations and significantly reduced body weight. These data indicate that translocation alters stress physiology and that chronic stress is potentially a major factor in translocation failure. Under current practices, the restoration of threatened species through translocation may unwittingly depend on the success of chronically stressed individuals. This conclusion emphasizes the need for understanding and alleviating translocation-induced chronic stress in order to use most effectively this important conservation tool. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5582 |
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Proops, L.; McComb, K. |
Title |
Cross-modal individual recognition in domestic horses (Equus caballus) extends to familiar humans |
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Journal Article |
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2012 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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279 |
Issue |
1741 |
Pages |
3131-3138 |
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It has recently been shown that some non-human animals can cross-modally recognize members of their own taxon. What is unclear is just how plastic this recognition system can be. In this study, we investigate whether an animal, the domestic horse, is capable of spontaneous cross-modal recognition of individuals from a morphologically very different species. We also provide the first insights into how cross-modal identity information is processed by examining whether there are hemispheric biases in this important social skill. In our preferential looking paradigm, subjects were presented with two people and playbacks of their voices to determine whether they were able to match the voice with the person. When presented with familiar handlers subjects could match the specific familiar person with the correct familiar voice. Horses were significantly better at performing the matching task when the congruent person was standing on their right, indicating marked hemispheric specialization (left hemisphere bias) in this ability. These results are the first to demonstrate that cross-modal recognition in animals can extend to individuals from phylogenetically very distant species. They also indicate that processes governed by the left hemisphere are central to the cross-modal matching of visual and auditory information from familiar individuals in a naturalistic setting. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5616 |
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Schneider, A.-C.; Melis, A.P.; Tomasello, M. |
Title |
How chimpanzees solve collective action problems |
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2012 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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We presented small groups of chimpanzees with two collective action situations, in which action was necessary for reward but there was a disincentive for individuals to act owing to the possibility of free-riding on the efforts of others. We found that in simpler scenarios (experiment 1) in which group size was small, there was a positive relationship between rank and action with more dominant individuals volunteering to act more often, particularly when the reward was less dispersed. Social tolerance also seemed to mediate action whereby higher tolerance levels within a group resulted in individuals of lower ranks sometimes acting and appropriating more of the reward. In more complex scenarios, when group size was larger and cooperation was necessary (experiment 2), overcoming the problem was more challenging. There was highly significant variability in the action rates of different individuals as well as between dyads, suggesting success was more greatly influenced by the individual personalities and personal relationships present in the group. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5629 |
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Melis, A.P.; Warneken, F.; Jensen, K.; Schneider, A.-C.; Call, J.; Tomasello, M. |
Title |
Chimpanzees help conspecifics obtain food and non-food items |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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278 |
Issue |
1710 |
Pages |
1405-1413 |
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Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) sometimes help both humans and conspecifics in experimental situations in which immediate selfish benefits can be ruled out. However, in several experiments, chimpanzees have not provided food to a conspecific even when it would cost them nothing, leading to the hypothesis that prosociality in the food-provisioning context is a derived trait in humans. Here, we show that chimpanzees help conspecifics obtain both food and non-food items—given that the donor cannot get the food herself. Furthermore, we show that the key factor eliciting chimpanzees' targeted helping is the recipients' attempts to either get the food or get the attention of the potential donor. The current findings add to the accumulating body of evidence that humans and chimpanzees share the motivation and skills necessary to help others in situations in which they cannot selfishly benefit. Humans, however, show prosocial motives more readily and in a wider range of contexts. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5630 |
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McComb, K.; Shannon, G.; Durant, S.M.; Sayialel, K.; Slotow, R.; Poole, J.; Moss, C. |
Title |
Leadership in elephants: the adaptive value of age |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2011 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. |
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278 |
Issue |
1722 |
Pages |
3270-3276 |
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The value of age is well recognized in human societies, where older individuals often emerge as leaders in tasks requiring specialized knowledge, but what part do such individuals play in other social species? Despite growing interest in how effective leadership might be achieved in animal social systems, the specific role that older leaders may play in decision-making has rarely been experimentally investigated. Here, we use a novel playback paradigm to demonstrate that in African elephants (Loxodonta africana), age affects the ability of matriarchs to make ecologically relevant decisions in a domain critical to survival—the assessment of predatory threat. While groups consistently adjust their defensive behaviour to the greater threat of three roaring lions versus one, families with younger matriarchs typically under-react to roars from male lions despite the severe danger they represent. Sensitivity to this key threat increases with matriarch age and is greatest for the oldest matriarchs, who are likely to have accumulated the most experience. Our study provides the first empirical evidence that individuals within a social group may derive significant benefits from the influence of an older leader because of their enhanced ability to make crucial decisions about predatory threat, generating important insights into selection for longevity in cognitively advanced social mammals. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5652 |
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Horváth, G.; Blahó, M.; Kriska, G.; Hegedüs, R.; Gerics, B.; Farkas, R.; Åkesson, S. |
Title |
An unexpected advantage of whiteness in horses: the most horsefly-proof horse has a depolarizing white coat |
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2010 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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277 |
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1688 |
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1643-1650 |
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White horses frequently suffer from malign skin cancer and visual deficiencies owing to their high sensitivity to the ultraviolet solar radiation. Furthermore, in the wild, white horses suffer a larger predation risk than dark individuals because they can more easily be detected. In spite of their greater vulnerability, white horses have been highly appreciated for centuries owing to their natural rarity. Here, we show that blood-sucking tabanid flies, known to transmit disease agents to mammals, are less attracted to white than dark horses. We also demonstrate that tabanids use reflected polarized light from the coat as a signal to find a host. The attraction of tabanids to mainly black and brown fur coats is explained by positive polarotaxis. As the host's colour determines its attractiveness to tabanids, this parameter has a strong influence on the parasite load of the host. Although we have studied only the tabanid–horse interaction, our results can probably be extrapolated to other host animals of polarotactic tabanids, as the reflection–polarization characteristics of the host's body surface are physically the same, and thus not species-dependent. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5702 |
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Wittig, R.M.; Crockford, C.; Langergraber, K.E.; Zuberbühler, K. |
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Triadic social interactions operate across time: a field experiment with wild chimpanzees |
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2014 |
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Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B |
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281 |
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1779 |
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Social animals cooperate with bonding partners to outcompete others. Predicting a competitor's supporter is likely to be beneficial, regardless of whether the supporting relationship is stable or transient, or whether the support happens immediately or later. Although humans make such predictions frequently, it is unclear to what extent animals have the cognitive abilities to recognize others’ transient bond partners and to predict others' coalitions that extend beyond the immediate present. We conducted playback experiments with wild chimpanzees to test this. About 2 h after fighting, subjects heard recordings of aggressive barks of a bystander, who was or was not a bond partner of the former opponent. Subjects looked longer and moved away more often from barks of the former opponents’ bond partners than non-bond partners. In an additional experiment, subjects moved away more from barks than socially benign calls of the same bond partner. These effects were present despite differences in genetic relatedness and considerable time delays between the two events. Chimpanzees, it appears, integrate memories of social interactions from different sources to make inferences about current interactions. This ability is crucial for connecting triadic social interactions across time, a requirement for predicting aggressive support even after a time delay. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5803 |
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