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Cauchard L, Bize P, Doligez B. How to solve novel problems: the role of associative learning in problem-solving performance in wild great tits Parus major. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:32. [PMID: 38607427 PMCID: PMC11014811 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01872-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Although problem-solving tasks are frequently used to assess innovative ability, the extent to which problem-solving performance reflects variation in cognitive skills has been rarely formally investigated. Using wild breeding great tits facing a new non-food motivated problem-solving task, we investigated the role of associative learning in finding the solution, compared to multiple other non-cognitive factors. We first examined the role of accuracy (the proportion of contacts made with the opening part of a string-pulling task), neophobia, exploration, activity, age, sex, body condition and participation time on the ability to solve the task. To highlight the effect of associative learning, we then compared accuracy between solvers and non-solvers, before and after the first cue to the solution (i.e., the first time they pulled the string opening the door). We finally compared accuracy over consecutive entrances for solvers. Using 884 observations from 788 great tits tested from 2010 to 2015, we showed that, prior to initial successful entrance, solvers were more accurate and more explorative than non-solvers, and that females were more likely to solve the task than males. The accuracy of solvers, but not of non-solvers, increased significantly after they had the opportunity to associate string pulling with the movement of the door, giving them a first cue to the task solution. The accuracy of solvers also increased over successive entrances. Our results demonstrate that variations in problem-solving performance primarily reflect inherent individual differences in associative learning, and are also to a lesser extent shaped by sex and exploratory behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laure Cauchard
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, U.K..
- Anthropogenic Effects Research Group, Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-62024, Sempach, Switzerland.
| | - Pierre Bize
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, U.K
- Anthropogenic Effects Research Group, Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-62024, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Blandine Doligez
- Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, CNRS, Univ Lyon, UMR 5558, University of Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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2
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Cauchard L, Doligez B. Editorial: Links between cognition and fitness: Mechanisms and constraints in the wild. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1113701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
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Morinay J, Cauchard L, Bize P, Doligez B. The Role of Cognition in Social Information Use for Breeding Site Selection: Experimental Evidence in a Wild Passerine Population. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.559690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In spatio-temporally variable environments, individuals are known to use information for making optimal decisions regarding where and when to breed. Optimal decision making can be complex when relying on multiple information sources with varying levels of reliability and accessibility. To deal with such complexity, different cognitive abilities such as learning and memory might enable individuals to optimally process and use these information sources. Yet, the link between information use and cognitive ability remains unexplored in natural populations. We investigated whether learning performance on a problem-solving task was related to the use of an experimentally manipulated source of social information for nest site selection in wild collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). Collared flycatchers are known to use heterospecific information from their main competitors, the great tits (Parus major). Here, we created a local apparent preference by tits for an artificial nest site feature (a geometric symbol attached to nest boxes occupied by tits) and recorded whether flycatcher pairs chose to settle in nest boxes displaying the same feature as tits (i.e., copied tit apparent preference). Using a problem-solving task requiring opening a door temporarily blocking the nest box entrance, we then measured flycatchers' learning performance during nestling rearing as the number of entrances required to solve the task and enter the nest box twice in a row below a given efficiency threshold. We found that the probability to copy tit preference decreased with decreasing learning performance in females, particularly yearling ones: fast learning females copied tit preference, while slow learning ones rejected it. Male learning performance did not affect copying behavior. Our results showed that learning performance might play an important role in the ability to optimally use information for nest site selection in females: both fast and slow learning females could process this heterospecific information source but used it differently. This could partly explain the link between cognitive abilities and reproductive success reported in previous studies. Whether cognitive abilities may modulate condition-dependent costs of using different information remains to be explored.
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Norte AC, Margos G, Becker NS, Albino Ramos J, Núncio MS, Fingerle V, Araújo PM, Adamík P, Alivizatos H, Barba E, Barrientos R, Cauchard L, Csörgő T, Diakou A, Dingemanse NJ, Doligez B, Dubiec A, Eeva T, Flaisz B, Grim T, Hau M, Heylen D, Hornok S, Kazantzidis S, Kováts D, Krause F, Literak I, Mänd R, Mentesana L, Morinay J, Mutanen M, Neto JM, Nováková M, Sanz JJ, Pascoal da Silva L, Sprong H, Tirri IS, Török J, Trilar T, Tyller Z, Visser ME, Lopes de Carvalho I. Host dispersal shapes the population structure of a tick-borne bacterial pathogen. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:485-501. [PMID: 31846173 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Birds are hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. Because of their high mobility, especially of longdistance migrants, birds can disperse these pathogens, affecting their distribution and phylogeography. We focused on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which includes the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, as an example for tick-borne pathogens, to address the role of birds as propagation hosts of zoonotic agents at a large geographical scale. We collected ticks from passerine birds in 11 European countries. B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence in Ixodes spp. was 37% and increased with latitude. The fieldfare Turdus pilaris and the blackbird T. merula carried ticks with the highest Borrelia prevalence (92 and 58%, respectively), whereas robin Erithacus rubecula ticks were the least infected (3.8%). Borrelia garinii was the most prevalent genospecies (61%), followed by B. valaisiana (24%), B. afzelii (9%), B. turdi (5%) and B. lusitaniae (0.5%). A novel Borrelia genospecies "Candidatus Borrelia aligera" was also detected. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of B. garinii isolates together with the global collection of B. garinii genotypes obtained from the Borrelia MLST public database revealed that: (a) there was little overlap among genotypes from different continents, (b) there was no geographical structuring within Europe, and (c) there was no evident association pattern detectable among B. garinii genotypes from ticks feeding on birds, questing ticks or human isolates. These findings strengthen the hypothesis that the population structure and evolutionary biology of tick-borne pathogens are shaped by their host associations and the movement patterns of these hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Cláudia Norte
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Vector and Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Gabriele Margos
- German National Reference Centre for Borrelia (NRZ), Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Oberschleissheim, Germany
| | - Noémie S Becker
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Jaime Albino Ramos
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Maria Sofia Núncio
- Center for Vector and Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Volker Fingerle
- German National Reference Centre for Borrelia (NRZ), Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Oberschleissheim, Germany
| | - Pedro Miguel Araújo
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Peter Adamík
- Department of Zoology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | | | - Emilio Barba
- Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva (ICBiBE), Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Rafael Barrientos
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laure Cauchard
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Tibor Csörgő
- Ócsa Bird Ringing Station, Ócsa, Hungary.,Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Anastasia Diakou
- Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Blandine Doligez
- CNRS - Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology (LBBE) - University Lyon 1, University of Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Anna Dubiec
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Tapio Eeva
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Barbara Flaisz
- Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tomas Grim
- Department of Zoology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Hau
- Evolutionary Physiology Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Dieter Heylen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.,Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Sándor Hornok
- Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Savas Kazantzidis
- Forest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization "DEMETER", Thesaloniki, Greece
| | - David Kováts
- Ócsa Bird Ringing Station, Ócsa, Hungary.,Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Ivan Literak
- Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Raivo Mänd
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Lucia Mentesana
- Evolutionary Physiology Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Jennifer Morinay
- CNRS - Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology (LBBE) - University Lyon 1, University of Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Marko Mutanen
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Júlio Manuel Neto
- Department of Biology, Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden
| | - Markéta Nováková
- Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Juan José Sanz
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Luís Pascoal da Silva
- Department of Life Sciences, CFE - Centre for Functional Ecology - Science for People & the Planet, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Hein Sprong
- National Institute of Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Ina-Sabrina Tirri
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tomi Trilar
- Slovenian Museum of Natural History, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Zdeněk Tyller
- Department of Zoology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Museum of the Moravian Wallachia Region, Vsetín, Czech Republic
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Isabel Lopes de Carvalho
- Center for Vector and Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
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Cauchoix M, Chow PKY, van Horik JO, Atance CM, Barbeau EJ, Barragan-Jason G, Bize P, Boussard A, Buechel SD, Cabirol A, Cauchard L, Claidière N, Dalesman S, Devaud JM, Didic M, Doligez B, Fagot J, Fichtel C, Henke-von der Malsburg J, Hermer E, Huber L, Huebner F, Kappeler PM, Klein S, Langbein J, Langley EJG, Lea SEG, Lihoreau M, Lovlie H, Matzel LD, Nakagawa S, Nawroth C, Oesterwind S, Sauce B, Smith EA, Sorato E, Tebbich S, Wallis LJ, Whiteside MA, Wilkinson A, Chaine AS, Morand-Ferron J. The repeatability of cognitive performance: a meta-analysis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170281. [PMID: 30104426 PMCID: PMC6107569 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioural and cognitive processes play important roles in mediating an individual's interactions with its environment. Yet, while there is a vast literature on repeatable individual differences in behaviour, relatively little is known about the repeatability of cognitive performance. To further our understanding of the evolution of cognition, we gathered 44 studies on individual performance of 25 species across six animal classes and used meta-analysis to assess whether cognitive performance is repeatable. We compared repeatability (R) in performance (1) on the same task presented at different times (temporal repeatability), and (2) on different tasks that measured the same putative cognitive ability (contextual repeatability). We also addressed whether R estimates were influenced by seven extrinsic factors (moderators): type of cognitive performance measurement, type of cognitive task, delay between tests, origin of the subjects, experimental context, taxonomic class and publication status. We found support for both temporal and contextual repeatability of cognitive performance, with mean R estimates ranging between 0.15 and 0.28. Repeatability estimates were mostly influenced by the type of cognitive performance measures and publication status. Our findings highlight the widespread occurrence of consistent inter-individual variation in cognition across a range of taxa which, like behaviour, may be associated with fitness outcomes.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Cauchoix
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS UMR5321, Evolutionary Ecology Group, 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 21 allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, France
| | - P K Y Chow
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Graduate School of Environmental Science, Division of Biospohere Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - J O van Horik
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - C M Atance
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - E J Barbeau
- Centre de recherche Cerveau et Cognition, UPS-CNRS, UMR5549, Toulouse, France
| | - G Barragan-Jason
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 21 allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, France
| | - P Bize
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - A Boussard
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - S D Buechel
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - A Cabirol
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - L Cauchard
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - N Claidière
- LPC, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - S Dalesman
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
| | - J M Devaud
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - M Didic
- AP-HM Timone & Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France
| | - B Doligez
- Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, CNRS UMR 5558, Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - J Fagot
- LPC, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - C Fichtel
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - J Henke-von der Malsburg
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - E Hermer
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - L Huber
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - F Huebner
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - P M Kappeler
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - S Klein
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - J Langbein
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany
| | - E J G Langley
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - S E G Lea
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - M Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - H Lovlie
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - L D Matzel
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - S Nakagawa
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - C Nawroth
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany
| | - S Oesterwind
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - B Sauce
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - E A Smith
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - E Sorato
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - S Tebbich
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - L J Wallis
- Clever Dog Lab, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - M A Whiteside
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - A Wilkinson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - A S Chaine
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS UMR5321, Evolutionary Ecology Group, 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 21 allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, France
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Audet JN, Kayello L, Ducatez S, Perillo S, Cauchard L, Howard JT, O’Connell LA, Jarvis ED, Lefebvre L. Divergence in problem-solving skills is associated with differential expression of glutamate receptors in wild finches. Sci Adv 2018; 4:eaao6369. [PMID: 29546239 PMCID: PMC5851658 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao6369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Problem solving and innovation are key components of intelligence. We compare wild-caught individuals from two species that are close relatives of Darwin's finches, the innovative Loxigilla barbadensis, and its most closely related species in Barbados, the conservative Tiaris bicolor. We found an all-or-none difference in the problem-solving capacity of the two species. Brain RNA sequencing analyses revealed interspecific differences in genes related to neuronal and synaptic plasticity in the intrapallial neural populations (mesopallium and nidopallium), especially in the nidopallium caudolaterale, a structure functionally analogous to the mammalian prefrontal cortex. At a finer scale, we discovered robust differences in glutamate receptor expression between the species. In particular, the GRIN2B/GRIN2A ratio, known to correlate with synaptic plasticity, was higher in the innovative L. barbadensis. These findings suggest that divergence in avian intelligence is associated with similar neuronal mechanisms to that of mammals, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Nicolas Audet
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
- Rockefeller University Field Research Center, 495 Tyrrel Road, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA
| | - Lima Kayello
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Simon Ducatez
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Sara Perillo
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Laure Cauchard
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, C. P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Jason T. Howard
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Lauren A. O’Connell
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Erich D. Jarvis
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, 311 Research Drive, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Louis Lefebvre
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
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7
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Récapet C, Sibeaux A, Cauchard L, Doligez B, Bize P. Selective disappearance of individuals with high levels of glycated haemoglobin in a free-living bird. Biol Lett 2017; 12:rsbl.2016.0243. [PMID: 27555645 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although disruption of glucose homeostasis is a hallmark of ageing in humans and laboratory model organisms, we have little information on the importance of this process in free-living animals. Poor control of blood glucose levels leads to irreversible protein glycation. Hence, levels of protein glycation are hypothesized to increase with age and to be associated with a decline in survival. We tested these predictions by measuring blood glycated haemoglobin in 274 adult collared flycatchers of known age and estimating individual probability of recapture in the following 2 years. Results show a strong decrease in glycated haemoglobin from age 1 to 5 years and an increase thereafter. Individuals with high levels of glycated haemoglobin had a lower probability of recapture, even after controlling for effects of age and dispersal. Altogether, our findings suggest that poor control of glucose homoeostasis is associated with lower survival in this free-living bird population, and that the selective disappearance of individuals with the highest glycation levels could account for the counterintuitive age-related decline in glycated haemoglobin in the early age categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Récapet
- Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1-CNRS, Villeurbanne Cedex, France Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Adélaïde Sibeaux
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laure Cauchard
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Blandine Doligez
- Laboratoire Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1-CNRS, Villeurbanne Cedex, France Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pierre Bize
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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8
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Cauchard L, Angers B, Boogert NJ, Lenarth M, Bize P, Doligez B. An Experimental Test of a Causal Link between Problem-Solving Performance and Reproductive Success in Wild Great Tits. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Cauchard L, Angers B, Boogert NJ, Doligez B. Effect of an anti-malaria drug on behavioural performance on a problem-solving task: an experiment in wild great tits. Behav Processes 2016; 133:S0376-6357(16)30321-7. [PMID: 27984082 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Revised: 10/18/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Malaria parasites have been shown to decrease host fitness in several species in the wild and their detrimental effects on host cognitive ability are well established in humans. However, experimental demonstrations of detrimental effects on non-human host behaviour are currently limited. In this study, we experimentally tested whether injections of an anti-malaria drug affected short-term behavioural responses to a problem-solving task during breeding in a wild population of great tits (Parus major) naturally infected with malaria. Adult females treated against malaria were more active than control females, even though they were not more likely to solve the task or learn how to do so, suggesting that energetic constraints could shape differences in some behaviours while changes in cognitive performances might require more time for the neural system to recover or may depend mainly on infection at the developmental stage. Alternatively, parasite load might be a consequence, rather than a cause, of inter-individual variation in cognitive performance. These results also suggest that inter-individual as well as inter-population differences in some behavioural traits may be linked to blood parasite load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laure Cauchard
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, bureau D-221, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3J7, Canada.
| | - Bernard Angers
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, bureau D-221, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Neeltje J Boogert
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Blandine Doligez
- CNRS, Université Lyon 1, Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, UMR 5558, Villeurbanne, France; Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Cauchard L, Boogert NJ, Lefebvre L, Dubois F, Doligez B. Problem-solving performance is correlated with reproductive success in a wild bird population. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Overington SE, Cauchard L, Côté KA, Lefebvre L. Innovative foraging behaviour in birds: what characterizes an innovator? Behav Processes 2011; 87:274-85. [PMID: 21704684 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2010] [Revised: 05/26/2011] [Accepted: 06/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Innovative foraging behaviour has been observed in many species, but little is known about how novel behaviour emerges or why individuals differ in their propensity to innovate. Here, we investigate these questions by presenting 36 wild-caught adult male Carib grackles (Quiscalus lugubris) with a novel problem-solving task. Twenty birds solved the task ("innovators") while 16 did not ("non-innovators"). We compared innovators to non-innovators and explored variation in latency to innovate to determine the characteristics of an innovative bird. Innovativeness was not predicted by any morphological trait, but innovators had higher exploration scores and lower object neophobia scores than non-innovators. Within the innovators, latency to innovate was positively correlated with learning speed. Video analysis also revealed a marked difference in the way individuals interacted with the novel apparatus: when innovators contacted the correct part of the apparatus, they continued to do so until they solved the problem. Non-innovators often contacted the correct part of the apparatus, but did not persist in doing so. The importance of obstacle movement cues was confirmed by an experiment where they were manipulated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Overington
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1B1 Canada.
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Abstract
AbstractForaging innovation, in which an individual eats a novel food or uses a novel foraging technique, has been observed in a wide range of species. If other individuals are nearby, they may adopt the innovation, thus spreading it through the population. Much research has focused on this social transmission of behaviour, but the effect of social context on the emergence of novel behaviour is unclear. Here, we examine the effect of social context on innovative feeding behaviour in the Carib grackle (Quiscalus lugubris), an opportunistic, gregarious bird. We test the effect of the proximity of conspecifics, while eliminating the direct effects of interference, scrounging, or aggression. Using a repeated-measures design, we found that birds took significantly longer to contact novel foraging tasks when in the presence of others vs. alone, and during playbacks of alarm calls vs. a control sound. Further, performance of a food-processing behaviour decreased when birds were with others, and individuals adjusted their behaviour depending on their distance from conspecifics. Our results suggest that feeding in groups may slow down or inhibit innovative foraging behaviour in this species. We discuss the implications of a trade-off between feeding in groups and taking advantage of new feeding opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Morand-Ferron
- 1Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888 Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3P 3P8
| | - Sarah Overington
- 2Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Ave Dr Penfield, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 1B1;,
| | - Laure Cauchard
- 3Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Ave Dr Penfield, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Louis Lefebvre
- 4Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Ave Dr Penfield, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3A 1B1
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