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16153 results in Animal behaviour

Page 84 of 808

  • 15 - Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) – Cognitive and Communicative Abilities

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 329-353

  • Summary

    Parrot brains differ from human, primate, mammalian and even other bird brains. Consequently, parrot and human senses may differ (e.g. most parrots have ultraviolet vison; higher flicker-fusion rates and smaller binocular overlap than do primates). Some parrot and human senses are similar (e.g. acute hearing sensitivity range overlap). Grey parrots can perform quite like humans - particularly young children (e.g. number concepts) - sometimes more so than genetically-nearer nonhuman primates. Such aspects affect laboratory experimental design and possibly field studies, although little is known about Greys’ lives in nature. I summarize knowledge about Grey parrot sensory capabilities and their possible effect on cognitive studies, and examine generalizations about behavioural training techniques - particularly how humans’ early evaluations of parrot capacities were prejudiced by not understanding how parrots learn vocalizations and concepts. I review laboratory studies on cognitive and communicative abilities. As to guidance for conducting field work, I discuss the small amount of existent information. This chapter, therefore, is a reference source, not an exhaustive treatise nor detailed guide.

  • 9 - Fish – How to Ask Them the Right Questions

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 199-221

  • Summary

    Fish represent the largest radiation of vertebrates, with over 32 000 species. While fish possess many anatomical and perceptual adaptations to the aquatic environment, most experimental procedures used to study cognition in other species are readily adaptable to fish. Their small size, ease of handling and wide range of ecological niches have long made fish a model species for cognitive research. Here we will focus predominantly on four model species: guppies (Poecilia reticulata), three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), goldfish (Carassius auratus) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). First, we will give an overview of some anatomical and perceptual traits that are relevant to cognitive research. We will then address some characteristics of their life cycle, ecology and social behaviour that should be considered when studying cognition, and include some tricks for adapting cognitive tasks to this group. Then, we will briefly review literature on each of these species, giving some historical information on their use as model species in cognition and behaviour. Finally, we will provide practical examples and tips to investigate spatial and social learning in fish, discussing how these tasks may be adapted to address slightly different questions.

  • 16 - Sharks – Elasmobranch Cognition

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 354-380

  • Summary

    Sharks as a model animal cannot be considered a ‘typical fish.’ They are part of a highly diverse group of marine vertebrates known as the cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes), which evolved independently of bony fishes (Osteichthyes) about 400 million years ago. Sharks range from planktivores to apex predators, are typically large-bodied, exhibit diverse reproductive modes, have long life spans, display ontogenetic shifts in diet and habitat preference and have widespread variation in brain size and complexity. Given the above characteristics, it is not surprising that studies exploring shark cognition are relatively few. However, in recent years substantial progress has been made, with a focus on small-bodied sharks such as bamboo, cat, lemon and horn sharks that can be maintained and monitored successfully in captivity. Importantly, this improvement in our understanding is also paralleled by advances in biotelemetry and bio-logging techniques. In this chapter, we explore the challenges that researchers face when working with sharks, but also highlight the advantages and advocate the importance of sharks as models for better understanding the link between ecology and cognition.

  • 12 - Lizards – Measuring Cognition: Practical Challenges and the Influence of Ecology and Social Behaviour

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 266-285

  • Summary

    In the past few decades, there has been a growing appreciation for the cognitive ability of lizards. Recent work has demonstrated that lizards show behavioural flexibility, social learning and may use imitation. Importantly, much of lizard ecology and behaviour is temperature dependent and the thermal environment during embryonic development can have a profound effect on phenotype. Lizards are generally relatively easy to maintain in captivity but, across the phylogeny, have been shown to differ fundamentally in their ecology and behaviour. For example, many clades are hard-wired for foraging mode (e.g. ambush vs active foragers) and with this, are differences in the ability to detect prey chemicals. These fundamental differences can affect the choice of a suitable cognitive test. Likewise, sex, reproductive state and social dominance may also affect learning ability. In this chapter, we will describe relevant aspects of lizard biology and then briefly review the literature on lizard cognition. Finally, we will describe practical approaches to studying cognition in the lab and field including how the data should be collected, managed and analysed.

  • 4 - Carib Grackles – Field and Lab Work on a Tame, Opportunistic Island Icterid

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 76-96

  • Summary

    The Carib grackle is a blackbird from the family Icteridae, one of the avian families showing the highest level of innovativeness in the wild. This grackle is particularly successful in the highly anthropogenically-modified environment of Barbados, exploiting a range of food sources made available by humans. The behaviour and cognition of this species has been investigated for more than 20 years, through direct experimentation in nature and behavioural tests conducted on birds kept captive for a few weeks. Particularly tame and exploratory in the field, and habituating very quickly to captivity, the grackle has proven to be a model species to characterize inter-individual variation in cognition. Here we describe the challenges associated with the measurement of cognition in wild birds, and detail the methodological solutions developed to deal with these challenges in the Carib grackle. From habituation protocols to measurements of temperament and novel cognitive tasks, we outline some of the constraints, difficulties and advantages surrounding the study of this species’ cognition in the field. Finally, we provide technical and methodological advice on field conditions, experimental set-ups and maintenance of birds in captivity for short periods.

  • 14 - Octopuses – Mind in the Waters

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 308-328

  • Summary

    Why study the behaviour of octopuses?  They are known to be very intelligent, to have personalities, play and accomplish many learning tasks, as well as explore their environment. They may even have a simple form of consciousness. But they accomplish all this with a neural and behavioural system that is radically different from that of vertebrates such as mammals and birds and follows a general invertebrate Protostomian body plan. So if we want to study a different model of advanced learning, to know more about comparative cognition, octopuses are logical subjects. While field work is slowly increasing our knowledge of cephalopods, laboratory studies on these animals are crucial to expand our understanding and to uncover background information about them. Thanks to the new European laws granting Cephalopods a status like vertebrates in terms of legal protection, efforts to standardizes and improve keeping Cephalopods have recently increased. Researchers need to know how to keep an animal safe and healthy, as well as some ‘tried and true’ approaches for learning about it. This chapter will begin with three areas of background, and will discuss particular testing paradigms.

  • 3 - Bees – The Experimental Umwelt of Honeybees

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 60-75

  • Summary

    Honeybees live both a social life inside of their colony and a life as individuals when foraging. Their cognitive faculties become apparent in their individual life as foragers for provision and information. Identifying them as individuals has crucially allowed studying learning and memory formation under natural conditions and in the laboratory, thus tracing the history of individuals’ experience. Although here I mainly focus on behavioural studies, bees also lend themselves to neurophysiological studies, because of their rather small brains, the excessibility of single neurons and networks, and their robustness. Training experiments reveal that bees perform rather complex tasks (e.g. learning rules, generalization and abstraction, delayed matching to sample, what, when and where tasks). Exploratory learning leads to navigation based on a memory structure, which can be best conceptualized as cognitive maps. Social communication through waggle dance is embedded in this rich spatial memory, allowing bees to choose between alternatives on the base of the expected outcome. While reviewing existing literature on bees’ umwelt and cognition, I will provide practical tips and suggestions on how to best test cognitive skills in these fascinating insects.

  • 8 - Elephants – Studying Cognition in the African Savannah

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 177-198

  • Summary

    As large brained, slow-maturing, very social animals, elephants offer exciting potential for studies of cognition. In popular literature they are famed for having long memories and being very caring of others, but surprisingly little empirical research into elephant cognitive skill has been conducted. This is due at least in part to the problems inherent to studying such large creatures that cannot be housed in a laboratory. Field studies of elephant cognition are difficult to design, plan and execute, whereas studies of captive elephant can suffer from serious behavioural confounds and pose complicated ethical dilemmas. Here I outline those confounds, so that they may be avoided or at least addressed in future studies of captive elephants, and I attempt to elucidate the process of designing, planning and conducting field-work, so that valid and robust research may be conducted in the future. I argue that ecological validity is key to successfully investigating elephant cognition, and that tests of general or widespread cognitive skills must be adapted to be appropriate for a large-bodied animal with a highly developed auditory sense and an extremely strong, dextrous and still sensitive nose.

  • 5 - Chicken – Cognition in the Poultry Yard

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 97-118

  • Summary

    The young of the domestic fowl has traditionally proven excellent material for the study of early learning, memory consolidation and their neurobiological bases. Recently, the advantages associated with accurate control of specific sensory experiences favoured the use of the domestic chicks for control-rearing studies of predispositions to social behaviour. Furthermore, behavioural methods have been developed that combine imprinting and/or spontaneous preferences associated with imprinting with more traditional associative learning, to investigate core knowledge mechanisms such as number, space and object representations. Finally, a range of laboratory and semi-naturalistic techniques allow studying brain asymmetry in the chick, and the role played by sensory stimulation in embryo in the establishment of functional lateralization. We will discuss how these methods can be implemented to test cognition in chicks, and how they can crucially complement studies carried out with mammalian models.

  • 1 - Ants – Individual and Social Cognition

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 8-30

  • Summary

    There are about 12 000 ant species on Earth, with different colony sizes (from tens to millions of individuals) and different modes of social life (from single foraging individuals, to highly coordinated groups). Highly social ant species possess sophisticated and flexible communication, and members of these species also demonstrate complex solving problem abilities. In this chapter, I will describe experimental methods for studying individual cognitive skills in highly social ant species. In particular, I will address the following questions: (i) how do ants distinguish their competitors and symbionts in invertebrate species communities, and what key stimuli do they use to do this? (ii) can ants learn to find hidden food through observing more agile and clever species? (iii) are members of an ant community equal in their cognitive abilities, or some ants are more clever than others? (iv) can ants transfer to each other “abstract” information about location? (v) is it possible that ants grasp regularities to optimize their messages? (vi) can ants count and use simple arithmetic rules? In order to answer these questions, we will follow ants in the wild and in laboratory arenas, with our mazes and batteries of tests.

  • 6 - Chimpanzees – Investigating Cognition in the Wild

  • Edited by Nereida Bueno-Guerra, Federica Amici, Universität Leipzig
  • Book:
    Field and Laboratory Methods in Animal Cognition
    Published online:
    30 July 2018
    Print publication:
    09 August 2018, pp 119-145

  • Summary

    Chimpanzees are one of our closest living relative. Like humans, they live in multi-male multi-female communities following fission-fusion dynamics. Their evolutionary and social closeness makes them a perfect target to investigate the evolutionary roots of human cognition. Although chimpanzee cognition has been studied extensively, most research has been conducted in captivity. Since cognition is supposed to be shaped by the ecological and social environment, here we mainly review cognitive studies on wild chimpanzees. Chimpanzees in the wild use a wide range of social and physical cognition to gain knowledge about others, cooperate with conspecifics, and use their spatial knowledge and knowledge about tool properties. We then review different methods to investigate cognitive abilities in wild chimpanzees, in order to introduce readers to the different possible experimental set-ups. We finally discuss the advantages and problems of play-back experiments, object presentations and combinations of the two approaches. We want to provide readers with the knowledge that the investigation of many ecological relevant question in cognition needs a natural setup, allowing chimpanzees to draw from experience shaped by natural pressure.

Page 84 of 808