Records |
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 |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:15306809 |
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refbase @ user @; Equine Behaviour @ team @ room B 3.029 |
Serial |
352 |
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Author |
Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Cognitive science: rank inferred by reason |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
Volume |
430 |
Issue |
7001 |
Pages |
732-733 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Group Structure; Male; *Social Dominance; Songbirds/*physiology |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:15306792 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
365 |
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Author |
Katz, M.; Lachlan, R.F. |
Title |
Social learning of food types in zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) is directed by demonstrator sex and feeding activity |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
11-16 |
Keywords |
Animals; Color; Diet; *Feeding Behavior; Female; *Learning; Male; Sex Factors; *Social Behavior; *Songbirds |
Abstract |
In this study we examined how social learning of feeding preferences by zebra finches was affected by the identity of different demonstrators. We presented adult zebra finches with two demonstrators, one male and one female, that exhibited different food choices, and we recorded their subsequent preference when given a choice between the two food types. Previously it was found that young zebra finches' patterns of social learning are affected by the sex of the individual demonstrating a feeding behaviour. This result could be explained by the lack of exposure these animals had to the opposite sex, or by their mating status. Therefore, we investigated the social learning preferences of adult mated zebra finches. We found the same pattern of directed social learning of a different type of feeding behaviour (food colour): female zebra finches preferred the colour of food eaten by male demonstrators, whereas male zebra finches showed little evidence of any preference for the colour of food eaten by female demonstrators. Furthermore, we found that female observers' preferences were biased by demonstrators' relative feeding activity: the female demonstrator was only ever preferred if it ate less than its male counterpart. |
Address |
Institute of Evolutionary and Ecological Science, University of Leiden, Kaiserstraat 63, 2311GP, Leiden, The Netherlands |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12658531 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2585 |
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Author |
Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Animal behaviour: planning for breakfast |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
Volume |
445 |
Issue |
7130 |
Pages |
825-826 |
Keywords |
Animals; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; *Food; Haplorhini/physiology; Memory/physiology; Songbirds/*physiology; Thinking/*physiology |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:17314961 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
356 |
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Author |
Mettke-Hofmann, C.; Gwinner, E. |
Title |
Long-term memory for a life on the move |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
Volume |
100 |
Issue |
10 |
Pages |
5863-5866 |
Keywords |
Animals; Germany; Israel; Memory/*physiology; Models, Biological; Periodicity; Songbirds/*physiology |
Abstract |
Evidence is accumulating that cognitive abilities are shaped by the specific ecological conditions to which animals are exposed. Long-distance migratory birds may provide a striking example of this. Field observations have shown that, at least in some species, a substantial proportion of individuals return to the same breeding, wintering, and stopover sites in successive years. This observation suggests that migrants have evolved special cognitive abilities that enable them to accomplish these feats. Here we show that memory of a particular feeding site persisted for at least 12 months in a long-distance migrant, whereas a closely related nonmigrant could remember such a site for only 2 weeks. Thus, it seems that the migratory lifestyle has influenced the learning and memorizing capacities of migratory birds. These results build a bridge between field observations suggesting special memorization feats of migratory birds and previous neuroanatomical results from the same two species indicating an increase in relative hippocampal size from the first to the second year of life in the migrant but not in the nonmigrant. |
Address |
Max Planck Research Centre for Ornithology, Department of Biological Rhythms and Behaviour, Von-der-Tann-Strasse 7, 82346 Andechs, Germany. mettke-hofmann@erl.ornithol.mpg.de |
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0027-8424 |
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PMID:12719527 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
511 |
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Author |
Peake, T.M.; Terry, A.M.; McGregor, P.K.; Dabelsteen, T. |
Title |
Male great tits eavesdrop on simulated male-to-male vocal interactions |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
268 |
Issue |
1472 |
Pages |
1183-1187 |
Keywords |
Animals; Male; Songbirds/*physiology; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
Animal communication generally occurs in the environment of a network of several potential signallers and receivers. Within a network environment, it is possible to gain relative information about conspecifics by eavesdropping on signalling interactions. We presented male great tits with the opportunity to gain such information by simulating singing interactions using two loudspeakers. Interactions were presented so that relevant information was not available in the absolute singing behaviour of either individual, only in the relative timing of their songs in the interaction as a whole. We then assayed the information extracted by focal males by subsequently introducing one of the 'interactants' (i.e. loudspeakers) into the territory of the focal male. Focal males responded with a reduced song output to males that had just 'lost' an interaction. Focal males did not respond significantly differently to 'winners' as compared with intruders recently involved in an interaction that contained no consistent information. Focal males also responded by switching song types more often when encountering males that had recently been involved in a low-intensity interaction. These results provide the clearest evidence yet that male songbirds extract information from signal interactions between conspecifics in the field. |
Address |
Department of Animal Behaviour, Zoological Institute, Tagensvej 16, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. tmpeake@zi.ku.dk |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:11375107 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
712 |
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Author |
Macphail, E.M.; Boldhuis, J.J |
Title |
The evolution of intelligence: adaptive specializations versusgeneral process |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Biological Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
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Volume |
76 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
341-364 |
Keywords |
biological constraints, corvids, ecology, food-storing birds, hippocampal size, parids, spatial learning, spatial memory, spatial module. |
Abstract |
Darwin argued that between-species differences in intelligence were differences of degree, not of kind. The contemporary ecological approach to animal cognition argues that animals have evolved species-specific and problem-specific processes to solve problems associated with their particular ecological niches: thus different species use different processes, and within a species, different processes are used to tackle problems involving different inputs. This approach contrasts both with Darwin's view and with the general process view, according to which the same central processes of learning and memory are used across an extensive range of problems involving very different inputs. We review evidence relevant to the claim that the learning and memory performance of non-human animals varies according to the nature of the stimuli involved. We first discuss the resource distribution hypothesis, olfactory learning-set formation, and the 'biological constraints' literature, but find no convincing support from these topics for the ecological account of cognition. We then discuss the claim that the performance of birds in spatial tasks of learning and memory is superior in species that depend heavily upon stored food compared to species that either show less dependence upon stored food or do not store food. If it could be shown that storing species enjoy a superiority specifically in spatial (and not non-spatial) tasks, this would argue that spatial tasks are indeed solved using different processes from those used in non-spatial tasks. Our review of this literature does not find a consistent superiority of storing over non-storing birds in spatial tasks, and, in particular, no evidence of enhanced superiority of storing species when the task demands are increased, by, for example, increasing the number of items to be recalled or the duration of the retention period. We discuss also the observation that the hippocampus of storing birds is larger than that of non-storing birds, and find evidence contrary to the view that hippocampal enlargement is associated with enhanced spatial memory; we are, however, unable to suggest a convincing alternative explanation for hippocampal enlargement. The failure to find solid support for the ecological view supports the view that there are no qualitative differences in cognition between animal species in the processes of learning and memory. We also argue that our review supports our contention that speculation about the phylogenetic development and function of behavioural processes does not provide a solid basis for gaining insight into the nature of those processes. We end by confessing to a belief in one major qualitative difference in cognition in animals: we believe that humans alone are capable of acquiring language, and that it is this capacity that divides our intelligence so sharply from non-human intelligence. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4797 |
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Author |
Bouchard, J. |
Title |
Is social learning correlated with innovation in birds? An inter-and an interspecific test |
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Manuscript |
Year |
2002 |
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Department of Biology McGill University Montréal, Québec |
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Birds -- Behavior Birds -- Food Columba livia -- Behavior Columba livia -- Food Social learning |
Abstract |
This thesis focuses on the relationship between innovation and social learning in the foraging context, across and within bird species, using two different sources of data: anecdotal reports from the literature, and experimental tests in the laboratory and the field. In chapter 1, I review the trends in innovation and social learning in the avian literature, and contrast them with trends in mammals, especially primates. In chapter 2, I use anecdotal reports of feeding innovation and social learning in the literature to assess taxonomic trends and to study the relationship between the two traits at the interspecific level. In chapter 3, I investigate the relationship between innovation and social learning at the intraspecific level in captive feral pigeons (Columba livia). Innovation is estimated from the ability to solve an innovative foraging problem, and social learning is measured as the number of trials required to learn a foraging task from a proficient demonstrator. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) |
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Master's thesis |
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Department of Biology McGili University Montréal, Québec |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4785 |
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Author |
Nakagawa, S.; Waas, J.R. |
Title |
'O sibling, where art thou?' – A review of avian sibling recognition with respect to the mammalian literature |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society |
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79 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
101-119 |
Keywords |
Birds; Direct familiarisation; Indirect familiarisation; Individual recognition; Kin discrimination; Kin recognition; Mammals; Sibling recognition |
Abstract |
Avian literature on sibling recognition is rare compared to that developed by mammalian researchers. We compare avian and mammalian research on sibling recognition to identify why avian work is rare, how approaches differ and what avian and mammalian researchers can learn from each other. Three factors: (1) biological differences between birds and mammals, (2) conceptual biases and (3) practical constraints, appear to influence our current understanding. Avian research focuses on colonial species because sibling recognition is considered adaptive where 'mixing potential' of dependent young is high; research on a wider range of species, breeding systems and ecological conditions is now needed. Studies of acoustic recognition cues dominate avian literature; other types of cues (e.g. visual, olfactory) deserve further attention. The effect of gender on avian sibling recognition has yet to be investigated; mammalian work shows that gender can have important influences. Most importantly, many researchers assume that birds recognise siblings through 'direct familiarisation' (commonly known as associative learning or familiarity); future experiments should also incorporate tests for 'indirect familiarisation' (commonly known as phenotype matching). If direct familiarisation proves crucial, avian research should investigate how periods of separation influence sibling discrimination. Mammalian researchers typically interpret sibling recognition in broad functional terms (nepotism, optimal outbreeding); some avian researchers more successfully identify specific and testable adaptive explanations, with greater relevance to natural contexts. We end by reporting exciting discoveries from recent studies of avian sibling recognition that inspire further interest in this topic. |
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Department of Biological Sciences, University Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand |
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Cited By (since 1996): 9; Export Date: 23 October 2008; Source: Scopus |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4567 |
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Author |
Lefebvre, L.; Reader, S.M.; Sol, D. |
Title |
Brains, Innovations and Evolution in Birds and Primates |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Brain, Behavior and Evolution |
Abbreviated Journal |
Brain. Behav. Evol. |
Volume |
63 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
233-246 |
Keywords |
Innovation W Brain evolution W Hyperstriatum ventrale W Neostriatum W Isocortex W Birds W Primates W Tool use W Invasion biology |
Abstract |
Abstract
Several comparative research programs have focusedon the cognitive, life history and ecological traits thataccount for variation in brain size. We review one ofthese programs, a program that uses the reported frequencyof behavioral innovation as an operational measureof cognition. In both birds and primates, innovationrate is positively correlated with the relative size of associationareas in the brain, the hyperstriatum ventrale andneostriatum in birds and the isocortex and striatum inprimates. Innovation rate is also positively correlatedwith the taxonomic distribution of tool use, as well asinterspecific differences in learning. Some features ofcognition have thus evolved in a remarkably similar wayin primates and at least six phyletically-independent avianlineages. In birds, innovation rate is associated withthe ability of species to deal with seasonal changes in theenvironment and to establish themselves in new regions,and it also appears to be related to the rate atwhich lineages diversify. Innovation rate provides a usefultool to quantify inter-taxon differences in cognitionand to test classic hypotheses regarding the evolution ofthe brain. |
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0006-8977 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4738 |
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