Adaptive specialization for spatial memory does not improve route efficiency: Comparing the ability of Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) and pigeons (Columba livia) to solve traveling salesperson problems

Abstract

An important question in comparative cognition is whether animals are capable of planning ahead. Todd and Hills (Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(3), 309-315, 2020) recently suggested that the ability to plan and choose internally may have scaffolded upon the cognitive mechanisms required by animals to search among patchy resources in their external environment. The traveling salesperson problem (TSP) is a spatial optimization problem in which a traveler is faced with the task of finding the best route from a start location to two or more destinations or targets. The Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) is a food-storing corvid with a highly specialized spatial memory. Spatial memory would appear to be deeply rooted in the cognitive mechanisms required for choosing efficiently among multiple alternative routes during a TSP. If so, then species like nutcrackers that are more dependent upon spatial memory for survival may have a greater ability to plan ahead or choose more efficiently among different route options than species that have less selective pressure for remembering the location of food, like pigeons. We examined the ability of nutcrackers to solve TSPs using the same procedures and target configurations as in our past research (Gibson, Wilkerson, & Kelly, Animal Cognition, 15, 379-391, 2012) to explore if nutcrackers can efficiently solve TSPs and how their route solutions compare with those of pigeons. Nutcrackers did not display an advantage in route efficiency and performed comparably to pigeons. Both species tended to prefer a nearest-neighbor strategy to more globally efficient routes. Having a more robust spatial memory may not improve the ability of animals to determine routes to multiple locations.

Target number influences strategy use by rats (Rattus norvegicus) in the traveling salesperson problem.

“…Similar research with pigeons has indicated that with novel configurations, performance is typically less efficient than the NN strategy, but that with training on a specific target configuration, performance improves to the point of exceeding NN (Baron et al, 2015;Gibson et al, 2012;Gibson et al, 2007). Recent evidence from birds also indicates that species with more robust spatial memories do not select more optimal routes, supporting the idea that the role of spatial memory in this task may be dissociable from a route planning or navigational component (Hales et al, 2021;Kelly et al, 2021).…”

Gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity: The heterogeneity of entrepreneurial team and organizational resilience

“…It has also analyzed the role of Confucian traditional culture in these relationships. Hypothesis 1 is accepted, showing that the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial team has positive influences on organizational resilience (Adaptive recovery ability and Integrated optimization ability) ( Kelly et al, 2021 ). Hypothesis 2 is also accepted, showing that cross-border search plays a mediating role between the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial team and adaptive recovery ability and integrated optimization ability of the organization.…”

“…Heterogeneous cooperation to meet challenges is called progress ( Ensley et al, 1998 ). According to the theory of heterogeneous advantage ( Lechler, 2001 ), within an organization, senior management teams with different backgrounds can view crisis events from different perspectives ( Yee et al, 2021 ), resulting in higher decision-making efficiency and stronger problem-solving ability ( Kelly et al, 2021 ). This multi-angle approach brings higher decision-making efficiency and stronger problem-solving ability to the organization ( Haryanto et al, 2021 ).…”