Cognitive Ability Influences Reproductive Life History Variation in the Wild

Abstract

Cognition has been studied intensively for several decades, but the evolutionary processes that shape individual variation in cognitive traits remain elusive [1-3]. For instance, the strength of selection on a cognitive trait has never been estimated in a natural population, and the possibility that positive links with life history variation [1-5] are mitigated by costs [6] or confounded by ecological factors remains unexplored in the wild. We assessed novel problem-solving performance in 468 wild great tits Parus major temporarily taken into captivity and subsequently followed up their reproductive performance in the wild. Problem-solver females produced larger clutches than nonsolvers. This benefit did not arise because solvers timed their breeding better, occupied better habitats, or compromised offspring quality or their own survival. Instead, foraging range size and day length were relatively small and short, respectively, for solvers, suggesting that they were more efficient at exploiting their environment. In contrast to the positive effect on clutch size, problem solvers deserted their nests more often, leading to little or no overall selection on problem-solving performance. Our results are consistent with the idea that variation in cognitive ability is shaped by contrasting effects on different life history traits directly linked to fitness [1, 3].

Learned parasite avoidance is driven by host personality and resistance to infection in a fish–trematode interaction

“…There has been a recent surge of interest in individual variation in cognition [49 -51], but the processes that shape this variation often remain unknown. Some studies have shown clear trade-offs between cognitive abilities and fitness [52,53], suggesting that selection can generate variation under different environmental conditions. Our study shows that relationships with personality traits can also generate individual differences in cognitive abilities if these traits affect the probability of infection.…”

Cognitive ability is heritable and predicts the success of an alternative mating tactic

“…Thus, there are potential trade-offs between the fitness benefits of enhanced cognitive performance, and costs associated with cognitive traits [44]. In a wild population of great tits (Parus major), parents that were able to solve a cognitive task produced larger clutches than those that failed to solve the task [9]. Task solvers spent less time foraging and foraged over a smaller area than non-solvers, implying that they were more efficient foragers than nonsolvers.…”

“…Some recent studies have implicated a role for male cognitive abilities in the capacity to attract mates, successfully father offspring and efficiently perform parental care, particularly in birds [8][9][10][11][12]. In Drosophila melanogaster, it was shown that male cognitive traits were eroded under relaxed sexual selection, demonstrating a potentially significant role of cognition in the mating system of this species [13].…”

Environmental and genetic determinants of innovativeness in a natural population of birds

“…Less clear is whether the benefits accrued in the long term are any better than strategies adopted by non-innovators, not least because there is no evidence of direct links with robust measures of fitness, such as survival and the total number of offspring recruited by an individual into the breeding population over its lifetime [34]. One study estimated selection on innovative PSP in an iteroparous bird but found no link with the number of offspring recruited to the breeding population (so-called recruitment selection), despite a strong link with fecundity [18]. An antagonistic association between PSP and sensitivity to predators during reproduction was the likely explanation.…”