| Records |
| Author |
Gentner, T.Q.; Fenn, K.M.; Margoliash, D.; Nusbaum, H.C. |
| Title |
Recursive syntactic pattern learning by songbirds |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
440 |
Issue |
7088 |
Pages |
1204-1207 |
Keywords  |
Acoustic Stimulation; *Animal Communication; Animals; Auditory Perception/*physiology; Humans; *Language; Learning/*physiology; Linguistics; Models, Neurological; Semantics; Starlings/*physiology; Stochastic Processes |
| Abstract |
Humans regularly produce new utterances that are understood by other members of the same language community. Linguistic theories account for this ability through the use of syntactic rules (or generative grammars) that describe the acceptable structure of utterances. The recursive, hierarchical embedding of language units (for example, words or phrases within shorter sentences) that is part of the ability to construct new utterances minimally requires a 'context-free' grammar that is more complex than the 'finite-state' grammars thought sufficient to specify the structure of all non-human communication signals. Recent hypotheses make the central claim that the capacity for syntactic recursion forms the computational core of a uniquely human language faculty. Here we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) accurately recognize acoustic patterns defined by a recursive, self-embedding, context-free grammar. They are also able to classify new patterns defined by the grammar and reliably exclude agrammatical patterns. Thus, the capacity to classify sequences from recursive, centre-embedded grammars is not uniquely human. This finding opens a new range of complex syntactic processing mechanisms to physiological investigation. |
| Address |
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. tgentner@ucsd.edu |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16641998 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
353 |
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| Author |
Fenton, B.; Ratcliffe, J. |
| Title |
Animal behaviour: eavesdropping on bats |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
429 |
Issue |
6992 |
Pages |
612-613 |
| Keywords |
Acoustics; Animals; Chiroptera/anatomy & histology/classification/genetics/*physiology; Echolocation/*physiology; *Evolution; Phylogeny; Predatory Behavior/physiology; Species Specificity |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15190335 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
500 |
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| Author |
Wolf, M.; van Doorn, G.S.; Leimar, O.; Weissing, F.J. |
| Title |
Life-history trade-offs favour the evolution of animal personalities |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
447 |
Issue |
7144 |
Pages |
581-584 |
| Keywords |
Aggression/physiology/psychology; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Evolution; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Models, Biological; Personality/*physiology; Predatory Behavior/physiology; Reproduction/physiology; Risk-Taking; Selection (Genetics) |
| Abstract |
In recent years evidence has been accumulating that personalities are not only found in humans but also in a wide range of other animal species. Individuals differ consistently in their behavioural tendencies and the behaviour in one context is correlated with the behaviour in multiple other contexts. From an adaptive perspective, the evolution of animal personalities is still a mystery, because a more flexible structure of behaviour should provide a selective advantage. Accordingly, many researchers view personalities as resulting from constraints imposed by the architecture of behaviour (but see ref. 12). In contrast, we show here that animal personalities can be given an adaptive explanation. Our argument is based on the insight that the trade-off between current and future reproduction often results in polymorphic populations in which some individuals put more emphasis on future fitness returns than others. Life-history theory predicts that such differences in fitness expectations should result in systematic differences in risk-taking behaviour. Individuals with high future expectations (who have much to lose) should be more risk-averse than individuals with low expectations. This applies to all kinds of risky situations, so individuals should consistently differ in their behaviour. By means of an evolutionary model we demonstrate that this basic principle results in the evolution of animal personalities. It simultaneously explains the coexistence of behavioural types, the consistency of behaviour through time and the structure of behavioural correlations across contexts. Moreover, it explains the common finding that explorative behaviour and risk-related traits like boldness and aggressiveness are common characteristics of animal personalities. |
| Address |
Theoretical Biology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17538618 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4098 |
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| Author |
Bell, A.M. |
| Title |
Evolutionary biology: animal personalities |
Type |
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| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
447 |
Issue |
7144 |
Pages |
539-540 |
| Keywords |
Aggression/physiology/psychology; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Evolution; Humans; *Models, Biological; Personality/genetics/*physiology; Reproduction/genetics/physiology; Risk-Taking; Selection (Genetics) |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17538607 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4099 |
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| Author |
Grosenick, L.; Clement, T.S.; Fernald, R.D. |
| Title |
Fish can infer social rank by observation alone |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
445 |
Issue |
7126 |
Pages |
429-432 |
| Keywords |
Aggression/physiology; Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Female; Fishes/*physiology; Learning/*physiology; Male; Models, Biological; *Social Dominance; Territoriality |
| Abstract |
Transitive inference (TI) involves using known relationships to deduce unknown ones (for example, using A > B and B > C to infer A > C), and is thus essential to logical reasoning. First described as a developmental milestone in children, TI has since been reported in nonhuman primates, rats and birds. Still, how animals acquire and represent transitive relationships and why such abilities might have evolved remain open problems. Here we show that male fish (Astatotilapia burtoni) can successfully make inferences on a hierarchy implied by pairwise fights between rival males. These fish learned the implied hierarchy vicariously (as 'bystanders'), by watching fights between rivals arranged around them in separate tank units. Our findings show that fish use TI when trained on socially relevant stimuli, and that they can make such inferences by using indirect information alone. Further, these bystanders seem to have both spatial and featural representations related to rival abilities, which they can use to make correct inferences depending on what kind of information is available to them. Beyond extending TI to fish and experimentally demonstrating indirect TI learning in animals, these results indicate that a universal mechanism underlying TI is unlikely. Rather, animals probably use multiple domain-specific representations adapted to different social and ecological pressures that they encounter during the course of their natural lives. |
| Address |
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA. logang@stanford.edu |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17251980 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
600 |
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| Author |
de Waal, F.B.M. |
| Title |
A century of getting to know the chimpanzee |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
437 |
Issue |
7055 |
Pages |
56-59 |
| Keywords |
Aggression; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Competitive Behavior; Cooperative Behavior; Female; Humans; Male; Pan troglodytes/genetics/*physiology/psychology; Sexual Behavior, Animal; *Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
A century of research on chimpanzees, both in their natural habitat and in captivity, has brought these apes socially, emotionally and mentally much closer to us. Parallels and homologues between chimpanzee and human behaviour range from tool-technology and cultural learning to power politics and intercommunity warfare. Few behavioural domains have remained untouched by this increased knowledge, which has dramatically challenged the way we view ourselves. The sequencing of the chimpanzee genome will no doubt bring more surprises and insights. Humans do occupy a special place among the primates, but this place increasingly has to be defined against a backdrop of substantial similarity. |
| Address |
Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 North Gatewood Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. dewaal@emory.edu |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16136128 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
162 |
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| Author |
Amdam, G.V.; Csondes, A.; Fondrk, M.K.; Page, R.E.J. |
| Title |
Complex social behaviour derived from maternal reproductive traits |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
439 |
Issue |
7072 |
Pages |
76-78 |
| Keywords |
Aging/physiology; Animals; Bees/*physiology; *Evolution; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Female; Infertility, Female; Maternal Behavior/*physiology; Ovary/physiology; Pollen/metabolism; Reproduction/*physiology; *Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
A fundamental goal of sociobiology is to explain how complex social behaviour evolves, especially in social insects, the exemplars of social living. Although still the subject of much controversy, recent theoretical explanations have focused on the evolutionary origins of worker behaviour (assistance from daughters that remain in the nest and help their mother to reproduce) through expression of maternal care behaviour towards siblings. A key prediction of this evolutionary model is that traits involved in maternal care have been co-opted through heterochronous expression of maternal genes to result in sib-care, the hallmark of highly evolved social life in insects. A coupling of maternal behaviour to reproductive status evolved in solitary insects, and was a ready substrate for the evolution of worker-containing societies. Here we show that division of foraging labour among worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) is linked to the reproductive status of facultatively sterile females. We thereby identify the evolutionary origin of a widely expressed social-insect behavioural syndrome, and provide a direct demonstration of how variation in maternal reproductive traits gives rise to complex social behaviour in non-reproductive helpers. |
| Address |
Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA. Gro.Amdam@asu.edu |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16397498 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
531 |
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| Author |
Whiten, A.; Horner, V.; de Waal, F.B.M. |
| Title |
Conformity to cultural norms of tool use in chimpanzees |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
437 |
Issue |
7059 |
Pages |
737-740 |
| Keywords |
Aging/physiology; Animals; Culture; Feeding Behavior/physiology; Female; Pan troglodytes/*physiology/*psychology; *Social Conformity; Technology; Time Factors |
| Abstract |
Rich circumstantial evidence suggests that the extensive behavioural diversity recorded in wild great apes reflects a complexity of cultural variation unmatched by species other than our own. However, the capacity for cultural transmission assumed by this interpretation has remained difficult to test rigorously in the field, where the scope for controlled experimentation is limited. Here we show that experimentally introduced technologies will spread within different ape communities. Unobserved by group mates, we first trained a high-ranking female from each of two groups of captive chimpanzees to adopt one of two different tool-use techniques for obtaining food from the same 'Pan-pipe' apparatus, then re-introduced each female to her respective group. All but two of 32 chimpanzees mastered the new technique under the influence of their local expert, whereas none did so in a third population lacking an expert. Most chimpanzees adopted the method seeded in their group, and these traditions continued to diverge over time. A subset of chimpanzees that discovered the alternative method nevertheless went on to match the predominant approach of their companions, showing a conformity bias that is regarded as a hallmark of human culture. |
| Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK. a.whiten@st-and.ac.uk |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16113685 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
163 |
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| Author |
Brosnan, S.F.; De Waal, F.B.M. |
| Title |
Monkeys reject unequal pay |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
425 |
Issue |
6955 |
Pages |
297-299 |
| Keywords |
Aging; Animals; Cebus/*psychology; Choice Behavior; *Cooperative Behavior; Female; Male; *Reward; Social Justice |
| Abstract |
During the evolution of cooperation it may have become critical for individuals to compare their own efforts and pay-offs with those of others. Negative reactions may occur when expectations are violated. One theory proposes that aversion to inequity can explain human cooperation within the bounds of the rational choice model, and may in fact be more inclusive than previous explanations. Although there exists substantial cultural variation in its particulars, this 'sense of fairness' is probably a human universal that has been shown to prevail in a wide variety of circumstances. However, we are not the only cooperative animals, hence inequity aversion may not be uniquely human. Many highly cooperative nonhuman species seem guided by a set of expectations about the outcome of cooperation and the division of resources. Here we demonstrate that a nonhuman primate, the brown capuchin monkey (Cebus apella), responds negatively to unequal reward distribution in exchanges with a human experimenter. Monkeys refused to participate if they witnessed a conspecific obtain a more attractive reward for equal effort, an effect amplified if the partner received such a reward without any effort at all. These reactions support an early evolutionary origin of inequity aversion. |
| Address |
Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA. sbrosna@emory.edu |
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English |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:13679918 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
179 |
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| Author |
Johnson, D.D.P.; Stopka, P.; Knights, S. |
| Title |
Sociology: The puzzle of human cooperation |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
421 |
Issue |
6926 |
Pages |
911-2; discussion 912 |
| Keywords |
Altruism; *Cooperative Behavior; Evolution; Humans; *Models, Biological; Punishment; Reward; Risk |
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| Address |
Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. dominic@post.harvard.edu |
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English |
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0028-0836 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12606989 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
467 |
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