Cognition in the wild: exploring animal minds with observational evidence

Byrne, Richard W.; Bates, Lucy A.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0352

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Traditionally cognitive performance is measured under controlled conditions using isolated individuals in captivity but increasingly observers measure cognitive performance on free‐ranging animals in the wild (Byrne & Bates, ; Thornton & Lukas, ). Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, which vary depending on the species and circumstances.…”

Section: Measuring Individual Variation In Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying the evolutionary ecology of cognition in the wild: a review of practical and conceptual challenges

2015

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Cognition is defined as the processes by which animals collect, retain and use information from their environment to guide their behaviour. Thus cognition is essential in a wide range of behaviours, including foraging, avoiding predators and mating. Despite this pivotal role, the evolutionary processes shaping variation in cognitive performance among individuals in wild populations remain very poorly understood. Selection experiments in captivity suggest that cognitive traits can have substantial heritability and can undergo rapid evolution. However only a handful of studies have attempted to explore how cognition influences life-history variation and fitness in the wild, and direct evidence for the action of natural or sexual selection on cognition is still lacking, reasons for which are diverse. Here we review the current literature with a view to: (i) highlighting the key practical and conceptual challenges faced by the field; (ii) describing how to define and measure cognitive traits in natural populations, and suggesting which species, populations and cognitive traits might be examined to greatest effect; emphasis is placed on selecting traits that are linked to functional behaviour; (iii) discussing how to deal with confounding factors such as personality and motivation in field as well as captive studies; (iv) describing how to measure and interpret relationships between cognitive performance, functional behaviour and fitness, offering some suggestions as to when and what kind of selection might be predicted; and (v) showing how an evolutionary ecological framework, more generally, along with innovative technologies has the potential to revolutionise the study of cognition in the wild. We conclude that the evolutionary ecology of cognition in wild populations is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field providing many opportunities for advancing the understanding of how cognitive abilities have evolved.

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Section: Measuring Individual Variation In Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying the evolutionary ecology of cognition in the wild: a review of practical and conceptual challenges

2015

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“…However, primate data is incomplete in the number of tests done by each species, requiring complex statistics to compensate for the lack of data (Johnson et al, 2002; Deaner et al, 2006) while still being at the genus level. Data from the wild (e.g., Reader et al, 2011 in primates) represents an important source for mapping species differences in cognitive abilities (Kamil, 1987; Byrne and Bates, 2011). Indeed, ethical methods of data acquisition are developed to test wild or semi-wild animals (e.g., Fagot and Paleressompoulle, 2009; Woods and Hare, 2010; Marino and Frohoff, 2011; Gazes et al, 2013; Healy and Hurly, 2013).…”

Section: Brain and Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconsidering the evolution of brain, cognition, and behavior in birds and mammals

Willemet¹

2013

Front. Psychol.

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Despite decades of research, some of the most basic issues concerning the extraordinarily complex brains and behavior of birds and mammals, such as the factors responsible for the diversity of brain size and composition, are still unclear. This is partly due to a number of conceptual and methodological issues. Determining species and group differences in brain composition requires accounting for the presence of taxon-cerebrotypes and the use of precise statistical methods. The role of allometry in determining brain variables should be revised. In particular, bird and mammalian brains appear to have evolved in response to a variety of selective pressures influencing both brain size and composition. “Brain” and “cognition” are indeed meta-variables, made up of the variables that are ecologically relevant and evolutionarily selected. External indicators of species differences in cognition and behavior are limited by the complexity of these differences. Indeed, behavioral differences between species and individuals are caused by cognitive and affective components. Although intra-species variability forms the basis of species evolution, some of the mechanisms underlying individual differences in brain and behavior appear to differ from those between species. While many issues have persisted over the years because of a lack of appropriate data or methods to test them; several fallacies, particularly those related to the human brain, reflect scientists' preconceptions. The theoretical framework on the evolution of brain, cognition, and behavior in birds and mammals should be reconsidered with these biases in mind.

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“…However, the cognitive mechanisms that underpin these behaviors are largely neglected. Moreover, when cognition is addressed in behavioral ecology, there is often a tendency to assume that cognitive mechanisms can be inferred from behavioral observations alone (Byrne & Bates, ). In contrast, psychologists highlight the fact that mechanisms, unlike behavior, are unobservable: a given behavior could be underpinned by a variety of different underlying mechanisms (see Tomasello & Call, response to Boesch, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychology of cooperation in animals: an ecological approach

McAuliffe

Thornton

2015

Journal of Zoology

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There has been a recent push to study the psychological processes supporting cooperation in nonhuman animals. However, progress has been limited thus far due to differences in approaches between psychologists and behavioral ecologists. Although the former tend to use controlled experiments to pinpoint precise cognitive mechanisms, these experiments often lack ecological validity. In contrast, behavioral ecologists seek to understand the adaptive function of cooperative behavior of animals in the wild but typically neglect the underlying psychological mechanisms. Here we appraise and integrate evidence from these two approaches to understand the potential cognitive solutions to four fundamental challenges that animals face during cooperative interactions under natural conditions: (1) when to cooperate; (2) with whom to cooperate; (3) what to do in cooperative interactions; (4) how much to contribute to cooperation. We argue that an ecologically motivated approach is critical to understanding the psychological mechanisms of cooperation and how these mechanisms evolve.

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Cognition in the wild: exploring animal minds with observational evidence

Cited by 27 publications

References 27 publications

Studying the evolutionary ecology of cognition in the wild: a review of practical and conceptual challenges

Studying the evolutionary ecology of cognition in the wild: a review of practical and conceptual challenges

Reconsidering the evolution of brain, cognition, and behavior in birds and mammals

The psychology of cooperation in animals: an ecological approach

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