Abstract:In changing environments, animals face unexpected problems to solve. Not all individuals in a population are equally able to solve new problems. It still remains unclear what factors (e.g., age, body condition) influence the propensity of problem-solving. We investigated variation in problem-solving performance among males following alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs). We studied a free-ranging population of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio). Adult male striped mice can employ 3 ARTs: 1) domina… Show more
“…Alternatively, male success in problemsolving could be related to their large size and better motor ability to open the device. However, a previous study using the same device showed that younger and smaller males striped mice solved the 20 task better than bigger males (Rochais et al, 2021). Finally, male striped mice showed faster attentional shifts in summer (Maille et al, 2015) which could have been related to faster problem-solving.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 74%
“…The number of successful individuals was low for both seasons (summer: 31%; winter: 37%) suggesting that the task was difficult to solve, not ecologically relevant and/or conditions in a field lab were stressful. Nevertheless, a previous study based on the same protocol, showed that 57% of the tested striped mice were successful (Rochais et al, 2021) suggesting that striped mice are able to perform the task.The success rate itself did not differ seasonally, since the number of successful individuals and the number of lids opened did not differ between season. These results suggest that even when natural food availability was very low, problem-solving success was not affected.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 88%
“…Mice were kept between 10 and 80 minutes in the separate room to allow them to habituate to the test conditions. There is no influence of holding time on striped mouse behaviour (see Rochais et al, 2021). Mice were then brought individually to the laboratory to perform the food-extraction problem-solving test.…”
Section: Cognitive Testingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The device consisted of a grey PVC foraging grid (20 X 8 X 3.5cm) containing 4 wells (each with a 3.5 cm diameter and 2.5 cm depth) that were covered with grey PVC lids. A short cotton string (3 cm) was attached to each lid, which the mice could pull to open the lid (Rochais et al, 2021). Each well contained a small piece of bran flake soaked in sunflower oil (the bait used during trapping) and a sunflower seed (highly preferred by striped mice).…”
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
“…Alternatively, male success in problemsolving could be related to their large size and better motor ability to open the device. However, a previous study using the same device showed that younger and smaller males striped mice solved the 20 task better than bigger males (Rochais et al, 2021). Finally, male striped mice showed faster attentional shifts in summer (Maille et al, 2015) which could have been related to faster problem-solving.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 74%
“…The number of successful individuals was low for both seasons (summer: 31%; winter: 37%) suggesting that the task was difficult to solve, not ecologically relevant and/or conditions in a field lab were stressful. Nevertheless, a previous study based on the same protocol, showed that 57% of the tested striped mice were successful (Rochais et al, 2021) suggesting that striped mice are able to perform the task.The success rate itself did not differ seasonally, since the number of successful individuals and the number of lids opened did not differ between season. These results suggest that even when natural food availability was very low, problem-solving success was not affected.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 88%
“…Mice were kept between 10 and 80 minutes in the separate room to allow them to habituate to the test conditions. There is no influence of holding time on striped mouse behaviour (see Rochais et al, 2021). Mice were then brought individually to the laboratory to perform the food-extraction problem-solving test.…”
Section: Cognitive Testingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The device consisted of a grey PVC foraging grid (20 X 8 X 3.5cm) containing 4 wells (each with a 3.5 cm diameter and 2.5 cm depth) that were covered with grey PVC lids. A short cotton string (3 cm) was attached to each lid, which the mice could pull to open the lid (Rochais et al, 2021). Each well contained a small piece of bran flake soaked in sunflower oil (the bait used during trapping) and a sunflower seed (highly preferred by striped mice).…”
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
“…The subject was video recorded using a go pro camera (AEE LYFE, S91B) mounted on the top of the box. Subjects were given a maximum of 5 min to complete the task whereafter those that did not complete the task were released 53 . Figure 4 Graphical representation of part of the experimental protocol and device.…”
Cognitive flexibility describes the ability of animals to alter cognitively mediated behaviour in response to changing situational demands, and can vary according to prevailing environemental conditions and individual caracteristics. In the present study, we investigated (1) how learning and reversal learning performance changes between seasons, and (2) how cognitive flexibility is related to sex in a free-living small mammal. We studied 107 African striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, in an arid semi-desert, 58 during the hot dry summer with low food availability, and 49 during the cold wet winter with higher food availability. We used an escape box task to test for learning and reversal learning performance. We found that learning and reversal learning efficiency varied seasonally by sex: females tested in summer were faster at solving both learning and reversal tasks than males tested in winter. Performance varied within sex: males tested in winter showed faster learning compared to males tested in summer. During reversal learning, females tested in summer were more efficient and solve the task faster compared to females tested in winter. We suggest that seasonal cognitive performance could be related to sex-specific behavioural characteristics of the species, resulting in adaptation for living in harsh environmental conditions.
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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