Dumb or smart asses? Donkey's (Equus asinus) cognitive capabilities share the heritability and variation patterns of human's (Homo sapiens) cognitive capabilities

González, Francisco Javier Navas; Palomino, Jordi Vidal; Jurado, José Manuel León; McLean, Amy; Bermejo, Juan Vicente Delgado

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2019.06.007

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(66 reference statements)

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“…Individuals who failed to adjust quickly would likely struggle in response to shifting resources, highlighting that shifts in resource availability can be a strong selection pressure for inherently bold, innovative, persistent, or flexible individuals. The understanding of the heritability of these behavioral traits is still developing, but research has identified genetic correlations with boldness in multiple vertebrate species ( Bubac et al, 2021 ; Stratton, Nolte & Payseur, 2021 ) and differential heritability among different behaviors in donkeys ( Equus asinus ; Navas González et al., 2019 ). Therefore, environmental changes that select for bold, innovative, or persistent individuals paired with the heritability of these traits could result in shifts in behavior at the population level over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scavengingvshunting affects behavioral traits of an opportunistic carnivore

Parsons

Garcia²,

Young

2022

PeerJ

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Background Human-induced changes to ecosystems transform the availability of resources to predators, including altering prey populations and increasing access to anthropogenic foods. Opportunistic predators are likely to respond to altered food resources by changing the proportion of food they hunt versus scavenge. These shifts in foraging behavior will affect species interactions through multiple pathways, including by changing other aspects of predator behavior such as boldness, innovation, and social structure. Methods To understand how foraging behavior impacts predator behavior, we conducted a controlled experiment to simulate hunting by introducing a prey model to captive coyotes (Canis latrans) and compared their behavior to coyotes that continued to scavenge over one year. We used focal observations to construct behavioral budgets, and conducted novel object, puzzle box, and conspecific tests to evaluate boldness, innovation, and response to conspecifics. Results We documented increased time spent resting by hunting coyotes paired with decreased time spent active. Hunting coyotes increased boldness and persistence but there were no changes in innovation. Our results illustrate how foraging behavior can impact other aspects of behavior, with potential ecological consequences to predator ecology, predator-prey dynamics, and human-wildlife conflict; however, the captive nature of our study limits specific conclusions related to wild predators. We conclude that human-induced behavioral changes could have cascading ecological implications that are not fully understood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scavengingvshunting affects behavioral traits of an opportunistic carnivore

Parsons

Garcia²,

Young

2022

PeerJ

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“…Individual personality was scored using an adaptation of the questionnaire proposed by Navas et al [ 38 ], and French [ 39 ]. The aforementioned methodology has been previously used to evaluate behavioural patterns in problem-focused coping styles, the genetic background behind them and the conditioning factors involved in donkeys [ 24 , 27 , 28 , 35 , 40 ]. A questionnaire was completed by ten observers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wide variability and particularities of donkey breeds [ 25 ] has promoted the adaptation of cognitive tests used in Miniature donkeys [ 26 ]. However, no evidence for interindividual and interbreed variability components have been reported, even if there is a strong possibility that selective breeding has led to temperamental and cognitive differences [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Judgement Bias in Miniature Donkeys: Conditioning Factors and Personality Links

Pinto

González

Heleski

et al. 2021

Animals

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Expectation-related bias may configure individuals’ perception of their surrounding environment and of the elements present in it. This study aimed to determine the repercussions of environmental (weather elements) or subject-inherent factors (sex, age, or personality features) on judgment bias. A cognitive bias test was performed in eight Miniature jennies and four jacks. Test comprised habituation, training and testing phases during which subjects were trained on how to complete the test and scored based on their latency to approach an ambiguous stimulus. A questionnaire evaluating eleven personality features was parallelly completed by three caretakers, five operators and two care assistants to determine the links between personality features and judgment bias. Adjusted latencies did not significantly differ between sexes (Mann–Whitney test, p > 0.05). Although Miniature donkeys can discriminate positive/negative stimuli, inter-individual variability evidences were found. Such discrimination is evidenced by significant latency differences to approach positive/negative stimuli (33.7 ± 43.1 vs. 145.5 ± 53.1 s) (Mann–Whitney test, p < 0.05). Latencies significantly increased with patience, indicative of an expression of pessimism. Better understanding judgement bias mechanisms and implications may help optimize routine handling practices in the framework of animal welfare.

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“…Studies have shown the complexity of donkeys' cognitive abilities and emotions. Donkeys have high cognitive abilities and are considered intelligent animals when comparatively scored on an analogous human scale ( 41 ). Regardless of studies in donkeys, the evolutionary mechanisms provide unequivocal evidence of the continuum of brain complexity of animals, then the differences are more related to degree rather presence of such capacities.…”

Section: Neurophysiological and Cognitive Basis For Preventing Animal...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Donkey Skin Trade and Its Non-compliance With Legislative Framework

Lima¹,

Tatemoto²,

Reeves³

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Donkeys (Equus asinus) are facing a global crisis. Their welfare, and even survival, is being compromised as the demand for their skins increases. This demand is driven by the need to supply raw materials to produce ejiao, a Traditional Chinese Medicine made from collagen extracted from donkey skins. Since there is no productive chain for donkey skin production outside of China, the global trade is an entirely extractive industry that has resulted in the decimation of some local donkey populations. The donkey skin trade is demonstrably unsustainable, from the ethical issues associated with poor welfare, to the biosecurity and human health risks the trade poses; and it violates both legal frameworks and moral expectations at both a national and global level.

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Dumb or smart asses? Donkey's (Equus asinus) cognitive capabilities share the heritability and variation patterns of human's (Homo sapiens) cognitive capabilities

Cited by 20 publications

References 63 publications

Scavengingvshunting affects behavioral traits of an opportunistic carnivore

Scavengingvshunting affects behavioral traits of an opportunistic carnivore

Judgement Bias in Miniature Donkeys: Conditioning Factors and Personality Links

Donkey Skin Trade and Its Non-compliance With Legislative Framework

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