scholarly journals Heritabilities and co-variation among cognitive traits in red junglefowl

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1756) ◽  
pp. 20170285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Sorato ◽  
Josefina Zidar ◽  
Laura Garnham ◽  
Alastair Wilson ◽  
Hanne Løvlie
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Genetic Control ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Discriminative Learning ◽  
Red Junglefowl ◽  
Judgement Bias ◽  
Cognitive Traits

Natural selection can act on between-individual variation in cognitive abilities, yet evolutionary responses depend on the presence of underlying genetic variation. It is, therefore, crucial to determine the relative extent of genetic versus environmental control of these among-individual differences in cognitive traits to understand their causes and evolutionary potential. We investigated heritability of associative learning performance and of a cognitive judgement bias (optimism), as well as their covariation, in a captive pedigree-bred population of red junglefowl ( Gallus gallus , n > 300 chicks over 5 years). We analysed performance in discriminative and reversal learning (two facets of associative learning), and cognitive judgement bias, by conducting animal models to disentangle genetic from environmental contributions. We demonstrate moderate heritability for reversal learning, and weak to no heritability for optimism and discriminative learning, respectively. The two facets of associative learning were weakly negatively correlated, consistent with hypothesized trade-offs underpinning individual cognitive styles. Reversal, but not discriminative learning performance, was associated with judgement bias; less optimistic individuals reversed a previously learnt association faster. Together these results indicate that genetic and environmental contributions differ among traits. While modular models of cognitive abilities predict a lack of common genetic control for different cognitive traits, further investigation is required to fully ascertain the degree of covariation between a broader range of cognitive traits and the extent of any shared genetic control. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities’.

scholarly journals Learning and motor inhibitory control in crows and domestic chickens

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia A. F. Wascher ◽  
Katie Allen ◽  
Georgine Szipl
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Learning Criterion ◽  
Behavioural Flexibility ◽  
Learning Experiment

Cognitive abilities allow animals to navigate through complex, fluctuating environments. In the present study, we tested the performance of a captive group of eight crows, Corvus corone and 10 domestic chickens, Gallus gallus domesticus , in the cylinder task, as a test of motor inhibitory control and reversal learning as a measure of learning ability and behavioural flexibility. Four crows and nine chickens completed the cylinder task, eight crows and six chickens completed the reversal learning experiment. Crows performed better in the cylinder task compared with chickens. In the reversal learning experiment, species did not significantly differ in the number of trials until the learning criterion was reached. The performance in the reversal learning experiment did not correlate with performance in the cylinder task in chickens. Our results suggest crows to possess better motor inhibitory control compared with chickens. By contrast, learning performance in a reversal learning task did not differ between the species, indicating similar levels of behavioural flexibility. Interestingly, we describe notable individual differences in performance. We stress the importance not only to compare cognitive performance between species but also between individuals of the same species when investigating the evolution of cognitive skills.

scholarly journals Need for speed: Short lifespan selects for increased learning ability

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannis Liedtke ◽  
Lutz Fromhage
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Short Lifespan

Abstract It is generally assumed that an investment into cognitive abilities and their associated cost is particularly beneficial for long-lived species, as a prolonged lifespan allows to recoup the initial investment. However, ephemeral organisms possess astonishing cognitive abilities too. Invertebrates, for example, are capable of simple associative learning, reversal learning, and planning. How can this discrepancy between theory and evidence be explained? Using a simulation, we show that short lives can actually select for an increase in learning abilities. The rationale behind this is that when learning is needed to exploit otherwise inaccessible resources, one needs to learn fast in order to utilize the resources when constrained by short lifespans. And thus, increased cognitive abilities may evolve, not despite short lifespan, but because of it.

scholarly journals The relationship between social rank and spatial learning in pheasants, Phasianus colchicus: cause or consequence?

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis J.G. Langley ◽  
Jayden O. van Horik ◽  
Mark A. Whiteside ◽  
Christine E. Beardsworth ◽  
Joah R. Madden
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Phasianus Colchicus ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Learning Performances

Individual differences in performances on cognitive tasks have been found to differ according to social rank across multiple species. However, it is not clear whether an individual’s cognitive performance is flexible and the result of their current social rank, modulated by social interactions (social state dependent hypothesis), or if it is determined prior to the formation of the social hierarchy and indeed influences an individual’s rank (prior attributes hypothesis). We separated these two hypotheses by measuring learning performance of male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus, on a spatial discrimination task as chicks and again as adults. We inferred adult male social rank from observing agonistic interactions while housed in captive multi-male multi-female groups. Learning performance of adult males was assayed after social rank had been standardised; by housing single males with two or four females. We predicted that if cognitive abilities determine social rank formation we would observe: consistency between chick and adult performances on the cognitive task and chick performance would predict adult social rank. We found that learning performances were consistent from chicks to adults for task accuracy, but not for speed of learning and chick learning performances were not related to adult social rank. Therefore, we could not support the prior attributes hypothesis of cognitive abilities aiding social rank formation. Instead, we found that individual differences in learning performances of adults were predicted by the number of females a male was housed with; males housed with four females had higher levels of learning performance than males housed with two females; and their most recent recording of captive social rank, even though learning performance was assayed while males were in a standardized, non-competitive environment. This does not support the hypothesis that direct social pressures are causing the inter-individual variation in learning performances that we observe. Instead, our results suggest that there may be carry-over effects of aggressive social interactions on learning performance. Consequently, whether early life spatial learning performances influence social rank is unclear but these performances are modulated by the current social environment and a male’s most recent social rank.

scholarly journals No sex differences in learning in wild bumblebees

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicity Muth ◽  
Amber D Tripodi ◽  
Rene Bonilla ◽  
James P Strange ◽  
Anne S Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Comparative Cognition ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Females and males often face different sources of selection, resulting in dimorphism in morphological, physiological, and even cognitive traits. Sex differences are often studied in respect to spatial cognition, yet the different ecological roles of males and females might shape cognition in multiple ways. For example, in dietary generalist bumblebees (Bombus), the ability to learn associations is critical to female workers, who face informationally rich foraging scenarios as they collect nectar and pollen from thousands of flowers over a period of weeks to months to feed the colony. While male bumblebees likely need to learn associations as well, they only forage for themselves while searching for potential mates. It is thus less clear whether foraging males would benefit from the same associative learning performance as foraging females. In this system, as in others, cognitive performance is typically studied in lab-reared animals under captive conditions, which may not be representative of patterns in the wild. In the first test of sex and species differences in cognition using wild bumblebees, we compared the performance of Bombus vancouverensis nearcticus (formerly bifarius) and Bombus vosnesenskii of both sexes on an associative learning task at Sierra Nevada (CA) field sites. Across both species, we found that males and females did not differ in their ability to learn, although males were slower to respond to the sucrose reward. These results offer the first evidence from natural populations that male bumblebees may be equally as able to learn associations as females, supporting findings from captive colonies of commercial bees. The observed interspecific variation in learning ability opens the door to using the Bombus system to test hypotheses about comparative cognition.

A common fungicide, Pristine®, impairs olfactory associative learning performance in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

2021 ◽  
pp. 117720
Author(s):  
Nicole S. DesJardins ◽  
Adrian Fisher ◽  
Cahit Ozturk ◽  
Jennifer H. Fewell ◽  
Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Learning Performance
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