Does trappability and self-selection influence cognitive performance?

Abstract

Recent research has highlighted how trappability and self-selection—the processes by which individuals with particular traits may be more likely to be caught or to participate in experiments—may be sources of bias in studies of animal behaviour and cognition. It is crucial to determine whether such biases exist, and if they do, what effect they have on results. In this study, we investigated if trappability (quantified through ‘ringing status’—whether or not a bird had been trapped for ringing) and self-selection are sources of bias in a series of associative learning experiments spanning 5 years in the Western Australian magpie ( Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis ). We found no evidence of self-selection, with no biases in task participation associated with sex, age, group size or ringing status. In addition, we found that there was no effect of trappability on cognitive performance. These findings give us confidence in the results generated in the animal cognition literature and add to a growing body of literature seeking to determine potential sources of bias in studies of animal behaviour, and how they influence the generalizability and reproducibility of findings.

Heritability of cognitive performance in wild Western Australian magpies

“…Associative learning is a domain-general trait that is likely to be highly ecologically relevant because it allows animals to determine predictable associations between environmental cues, such as the behaviour of conspecifics [ 33 , 34 ]. Repeated testing is valid in this species, as previous research has shown that associative learning performance is highly repeatable [ 27 ], and cognitive performance does not improve with repeated testing via causally identical but visually distinct tasks [ 35 ] and does not differ between ringed and unringed individuals [ 36 ].…”

Anthropogenic noise affects vocalisation properties of the territorial song of Western Australian magpies

“…Data were collected from July 2021 to August 2023, between 5-11am (when birds are most active (Edwards et al, 2015)) on 15 groups of magpies (group sizes ranged from 2 – 10 adults during this study) located in urban areas of Crawley and Guildford, Western Australia. Birds in this population are habituated to human presence, allowing close observation and recording of natural behaviour, and individuals are identifiable via coloured rings, plumage anomalies, or distinctive scarring (Ashton et al, 2022).…”

Aggressive interactions influence cognitive performance in Western Australian magpies

“…Individuals are habituated to observers, allowing close behavioural observation and presentation of cognitive tests within 5 m. Individuals are identifiable via coloured and metal bands or by unique scarring or plumage aberrations. Previous research on this population has shown that cognitive performance does not differ between ringed and unringed individuals [ 34 ]. Males and females are sexually dimorphic and thus sex is distinguishable by plumage [ 16 ].…”