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| Author |
Morand-Ferron, J.; Quinn, J.L. |
Title  |
Larger groups of passerines are more efficient problem solvers in the wild |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA |
| Volume |
108 |
Issue |
38 |
Pages |
15898-15903 |
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| Abstract |
Group living commonly helps organisms face challenging environmental conditions. Although a known phenomenon in humans, recent findings suggest that a benefit of group living in animals generally might be increased innovative problem-solving efficiency. This benefit has never been demonstrated in a natural context, however, and the mechanisms underlying improved efficiency are largely unknown. We examined the problem-solving performance of great and blue tits at automated devices and found that efficiency increased with flock size. This relationship held when restricting the analysis to naive individuals, demonstrating that larger groups increased innovation efficiency. In addition to this effect of naive flock size, the presence of at least one experienced bird increased the frequency of solving, and larger flocks were more likely to contain experienced birds. These findings provide empirical evidence for the “pool of competence” hypothesis in nonhuman animals. The probability of success also differed consistently between individuals, a necessary condition for the pool of competence hypothesis. Solvers had a higher probability of success when foraging with a larger number of companions and when using devices located near rather than further from protective tree cover, suggesting a role for reduced predation risk on problem-solving efficiency. In contrast to traditional group living theory, individuals joining larger flocks benefited from a higher seed intake, suggesting that group living facilitated exploitation of a novel food source through improved problem-solving efficiency. Together our results suggest that both ecological and social factors, through reduced predation risk and increased pool of competence, mediate innovation in natural populations. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6539 |
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Sebilo, M.; Mayer, B.; Nicolardot, B.; Pinay, G.; Mariotti, A. |
| Title |
Long-term fate of nitrate fertilizer in agricultural soils |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2013 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
PNAS |
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Increasing diffuse nitrate loading of surface waters and groundwater has emerged as a major problem in many agricultural areas of the world, resulting in contamination of drinking water resources in aquifers as well as eutrophication of freshwaters and coastal marine ecosystems. Although empirical correlations between application rates of N fertilizers to agricultural soils and nitrate contamination of adjacent hydrological systems have been demonstrated, the transit times of fertilizer N in the pedosphere–hydrosphere system are poorly understood. We investigated the fate of isotopically labeled nitrogen fertilizers in a three–decade-long in situ tracer experiment that quantified not only fertilizer N uptake by plants and retention in soils, but also determined to which extent and over which time periods fertilizer N stored in soil organic matter is rereleased for either uptake in crops or export into the hydrosphere. We found that 61–65% of the applied fertilizers N were taken up by plants, whereas 12–15% of the labeled fertilizer N were still residing in the soil organic matter more than a quarter century after tracer application. Between 8–12% of the applied fertilizer had leaked toward the hydrosphere during the 30-y observation period. We predict that additional exports of 15N-labeled nitrate from the tracer application in 1982 toward the hydrosphere will continue for at least another five decades. Therefore, attempts to reduce agricultural nitrate contamination of aquatic systems must consider the long-term legacy of past applications of synthetic fertilizers in agricultural systems and the nitrogen retention capacity of agricultural soils. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5730 |
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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 |
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Animals; Germany; Israel; Memory/*physiology; Models, Biological; Periodicity; Songbirds/*physiology |
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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. |
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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 @ |
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511 |
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| Author |
Drea, C.M.; Wallen, K. |
| Title |
Low-status monkeys “play dumb” when learning in mixed social groups |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
1999 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
96 |
Issue |
22 |
Pages |
12965-12969 |
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Many primates, including humans, live in complex hierarchical societies where social context and status affect daily life. Nevertheless, primate learning studies typically test single animals in limited laboratory settings where the important effects of social interactions and relationships cannot be studied. To investigate the impact of sociality on associative learning, we compared the individual performances of group-tested rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) across various social contexts. We used a traditional discrimination paradigm that measures an animal's ability to form associations between cues and the obtaining of food in choice situations; but we adapted the task for group testing. After training a 55-member colony to separate on command into two subgroups, composed of either high- or low-status families, we exposed animals to two color discrimination problems, one with all monkeys present (combined condition), the other in their “dominant” and “subordinate” cohorts (split condition). Next, we manipulated learning history by testing animals on the same problems, but with the social contexts reversed. Monkeys from dominant families excelled in all conditions, but subordinates performed well in the split condition only, regardless of learning history. Subordinate animals had learned the associations, but expressed their knowledge only when segregated from higher-ranking animals. Because aggressive behavior was rare, performance deficits probably reflected voluntary inhibition. This experimental evidence of rank-related, social modulation of performance calls for greater consideration of social factors when assessing learning and may also have relevance for the evaluation of human scholastic achievement. |
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10.1073/pnas.96.22.12965 |
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no |
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2093 |
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Begall, S.; Cervený, J.; Neef, J.; Vojtech, O.; Burda, H. |
| Title |
Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
105 |
Issue |
36 |
Pages |
13451-13455 |
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We demonstrate by means of simple, noninvasive methods (analysis of satellite images, field observations, and measuring “deer beds” in snow) that domestic cattle (n = 8,510 in 308 pastures) across the globe, and grazing and resting red and roe deer (n = 2,974 at 241 localities), align their body axes in roughly a north–south direction. Direct observations of roe deer revealed that animals orient their heads northward when grazing or resting. Amazingly, this ubiquitous phenomenon does not seem to have been noticed by herdsmen, ranchers, or hunters. Because wind and light conditions could be excluded as a common denominator determining the body axis orientation, magnetic alignment is the most parsimonious explanation. To test the hypothesis that cattle orient their body axes along the field lines of the Earth's magnetic field, we analyzed the body orientation of cattle from localities with high magnetic declination. Here, magnetic north was a better predictor than geographic north. This study reveals the magnetic alignment in large mammals based on statistically sufficient sample sizes. Our findings open horizons for the study of magnetoreception in general and are of potential significance for applied ethology (husbandry, animal welfare). They challenge neuroscientists and biophysics to explain the proximate mechanisms. |
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10.1073/pnas.0803650105 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5316 |
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Reiss, D.; Marino, L. |
| Title |
Mirror self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: a case of cognitive convergence |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
98 |
Issue |
10 |
Pages |
5937-5942 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Dolphins/*physiology; *Visual Perception |
| Abstract |
The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror is an exceedingly rare capacity in the animal kingdom. To date, only humans and great apes have shown convincing evidence of mirror self-recognition. Two dolphins were exposed to reflective surfaces, and both demonstrated responses consistent with the use of the mirror to investigate marked parts of the body. This ability to use a mirror to inspect parts of the body is a striking example of evolutionary convergence with great apes and humans. |
| Address |
Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences, New York Aquarium, Wildlife Conservation Society, Brooklyn, NY 11224, USA. dlr28@columbia.edu |
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0027-8424 |
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PMID:11331768 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2822 |
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Jansen, T.; Forster, P.; Levine, M.A.; Oelke, H.; Hurles, M.; Renfrew, C.; Weber, J.; Olek, K. |
| Title |
Mitochondrial DNA and the origins of the domestic horse |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
99 |
Issue |
16 |
Pages |
10905-10910 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Domestic/classification/*genetics; Base Sequence; DNA, Complementary; *DNA, Mitochondrial; *Evolution, Molecular; Horses/classification/*genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny |
| Abstract |
The place and date of the domestication of the horse has long been a matter for debate among archaeologists. To determine whether horses were domesticated from one or several ancestral horse populations, we sequenced the mitochondrial D-loop for 318 horses from 25 oriental and European breeds, including American mustangs. Adding these sequences to previously published data, the total comes to 652, the largest currently available database. From these sequences, a phylogenetic network was constructed that showed that most of the 93 different mitochondrial (mt)DNA types grouped into 17 distinct phylogenetic clusters. Several of the clusters correspond to breeds and/or geographic areas, notably cluster A2, which is specific to Przewalski's horses, cluster C1, which is distinctive for northern European ponies, and cluster D1, which is well represented in Iberian and northwest African breeds. A consideration of the horse mtDNA mutation rate together with the archaeological timeframe for domestication requires at least 77 successfully breeding mares recruited from the wild. The extensive genetic diversity of these 77 ancestral mares leads us to conclude that several distinct horse populations were involved in the domestication of the horse. |
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Biopsytec Analytik GmbH, Marie-Curie-Strasse 1, 53359 Rheinbach, Germany. jansen@biopsytec.com |
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0027-8424 |
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PMID:12130666 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
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772 |
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Ward, A.J.W.; Sumpter, D.J.T.; Couzin, I.D.; Hart, P.J.B.; Krause, J. |
| Title |
Quorum decision-making facilitates information transfer in fish shoals |
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Journal Article |
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2008 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
| Volume |
105 |
Issue |
19 |
Pages |
6948-6953 |
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Despite the growing interest in collective phenomena such as “swarm intelligence” and “wisdom of the crowds,” little is known about the mechanisms underlying decision-making in vertebrate animal groups. How do animals use the behavior of others to make more accurate decisions, especially when it is not possible to identify which individuals possess pertinent information? One plausible answer is that individuals respond only when they see a threshold number of individuals perform a particular behavior. Here, we investigate the role of such “quorum responses” in the movement decisions of fish (three-spine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus). We show that a quorum response to conspecifics can explain how sticklebacks make collective movement decisions, both in the absence and presence of a potential predation risk. Importantly our experimental work shows that a quorum response can reduce the likelihood of amplification of nonadaptive following behavior. Whereas the traveling direction of solitary fish was strongly influenced by a single replica conspecific, the replica was largely ignored by larger groups of four or eight sticklebacks under risk, and the addition of a second replica was required to exert influence on the movement decisions of such groups. Model simulations further predict that quorum responses by fish improve the accuracy and speed of their decision-making over that of independent decision-makers or those using a weak linear response. This study shows that effective and accurate information transfer in groups may be gained only through nonlinear responses of group members to each other, thus highlighting the importance of quorum decision-making. |
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10.1073/pnas.0710344105 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5252 |
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Warmuth, V.; Eriksson, A.; Bower, M.A.; Barker, G.; Barrett, E.; Hanks, B.K.; Li, S.; Lomitashvili, D.; Ochir-Goryaeva, M.; Sizonov, G.V.; Soyonov, V.; Manica, A. |
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Reconstructing the origin and spread of horse domestication in the Eurasian steppe |
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Journal Article |
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2012 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |
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Despite decades of research across multiple disciplines, the early history of horse domestication remains poorly understood. On the basis of current evidence from archaeology, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal sequencing, a number of different domestication scenarios have been proposed, ranging from the spread of domestic horses out of a restricted primary area of domestication to the domestication of numerous distinct wild horse populations. In this paper, we reconstruct both the population genetic structure of the extinct wild progenitor of domestic horses, Equus ferus, and the origin and spread of horse domestication in the Eurasian steppes by fitting a spatially explicit stepping-stone model to genotype data from >300 horses sampled across northern Eurasia. We find strong evidence for an expansion of E. ferus out of eastern Eurasia about 160 kya, likely reflecting the colonization of Eurasia by this species. Our best-fitting scenario further suggests that horse domestication originated in the western part of the Eurasian steppe and that domestic herds were repeatedly restocked with local wild horses as they spread out of this area. By showing that horse domestication was initiated in the western Eurasian steppe and that the spread of domestic herds across Eurasia involved extensive introgression from the wild, the scenario of horse domestication proposed here unites evidence from archaeology, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal DNA. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5612 |
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Lee, R.D. |
| Title |
Rethinking the evolutionary theory of aging: transfers, not births, shape senescence in social species |
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Journal Article |
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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 |
16 |
Pages |
9637-9642 |
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Adaptation, Physiological; *Aging; Animals; *Biological Evolution; Demography; Economics; Environment; Fertility; Humans; Life Expectancy; Longevity; Models, Theoretical; Parturition; Population Dynamics; Population Growth; Reproduction |
| Abstract |
The classic evolutionary theory of aging explains why mortality rises with age: as individuals grow older, less lifetime fertility remains, so continued survival contributes less to reproductive fitness. However, successful reproduction often involves intergenerational transfers as well as fertility. In the formal theory offered here, age-specific selective pressure on mortality depends on a weighted average of remaining fertility (the classic effect) and remaining intergenerational transfers to be made to others. For species at the optimal quantity-investment tradeoff for offspring, only the transfer effect shapes mortality, explaining postreproductive survival and why juvenile mortality declines with age. It also explains the evolution of lower fertility, longer life, and increased investments in offspring. |
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Department of Demography, University of California, 2232 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94720-2120, USA. rlee@demog.berkeley.edu |
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0027-8424 |
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PMID:12878733 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5465 |
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