Incubation environment impacts the social cognition of adult lizards

Siviter, Harry; Deeming, D. C.; Giezen, Mendel; Wilkinson, Anna

doi:10.1098/rsos.170742

Cited by 39 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…incubated hatchling bearded dragons were faster at opening a door after demonstration than 'hot' incubated lizards. There was, however, no significant difference between groups in the number of successful door openings (Siviter et al, 2017). Wild Lilford's wall lizards (Podarcis lilfordi) preferred locations with conspecifics present when given a choice between food with and without conspecifics (including static copper models).…”

Section: Turtles and Tortoisesmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…By using video recordings (e.g. Siviter et al, 2017;Kis et al, 2015) researchers can exert control over task parameters and gain insight into which information is passed on. Comparing results between social and less social species might then in turn reveal if the degree of sociality has an effect on the type or degree of social information use, a previously completely unexplored research endeavour.…”

Section: Social Learning In Social Reptilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-avian reptile learning 40 years on: advances and promising new directions

Szabo¹,

Noble²,

Whiting³

2019

Preprint

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Recently, there has been a surge in cognition research in non-avian reptiles. As a diverse group of animals, non-avian reptiles (turtles, the tuatara, crocodilians, and squamates - lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids) have shown to be good model systems for answering questions related to cognitive ecology; from the role of the environment in brain, behaviour and learning to how social and life-history factors correlate with learning ability. Furthermore, given their variable social structure and degree of sociality, reptiles have been pivotal in demonstrating that group living is unnecessary for animals to learn effectively from conspecifics. Past research has undoubtedly demonstrated that non-avian reptiles are capable of more than just instinctive reactions and basic cognition. Despite their ability to provide answers to fundamental questions in cognitive ecology and a growing literature base, there have been no systematic syntheses of research in this group. Here, we systematically, and comprehensively review studies on reptile learning. We identify 83 new studies investigating learning in reptiles not included in previous reviews on the same topic – affording a unique opportunity to provide a more in-depth synthesis of existing work, its taxonomic distribution, the types of cognitive domains tested and methodology that has been used. Our review therefore provides an up-to-date knowledge overview by tying the collected evidence together under eight cognitive umbrella terms: (1) aversion learning, (2) spatial cognition, (3) learning during foraging, (4) numerical competency, (5) learning flexibility, (6) social learning and (7) memory. Importantly, we identify knowledge gaps and propose themes which offer important future research opportunities including how cognitive ability might influence fitness and survival, testing cognition in an ecologically relevant setup, testing invasive compared to non-invasive species, and social learning in social reptiles. Overall, we believe that, for the field to move forward, it will be immensely important to build upon the descriptive approach (testing if a species can learn a task) with experimental studies elucidating causal reasons for cognitive variation between and within species. With the appropriate methodology, this still young field of research should advance greatly in the coming years and represents a significant opportunity for testing general questions in cognitive ecology and beyond.

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Section: Turtles and Tortoisesmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Social Learning In Social Reptilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-avian reptile learning 40 years on: advances and promising new directions

Szabo¹,

Noble²,

Whiting³

2019

Preprint

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“…Basking (time budget) — presents as relaxed and stretching out [5] with the head orientated to the heat source [95]. PBTSs will come out of (but stay close to) their burrow to bask in the morning, retreat midday and come out again in the late afternoon.…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Welfare Assessment Methods in Reptiles, and Preliminary Application of the Welfare Quality® Protocol to the Pygmy Blue-Tongue Skink, Tiliqua adelaidensis, Using Animal-Based Measures

Benn

McLelland

Whittaker

2019

Animals

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Simple SummaryReptiles are commonly housed in wildlife parks and zoos, and are increasingly being kept as pets. Husbandry of reptiles is complex; signs of pain or disease can be challenging to recognize, and behavior is not always well understood. Therefore, assessment of reptile welfare may be difficult. In comparison to mammals, methods of welfare assessment in reptiles are under-investigated. In this paper we review the literature on welfare assessment techniques in reptiles. We determine that indicators of negative affective state are better characterized in reptiles, and are likely easier to apply in a welfare assessment tool. Indicators of positive affective state such as play behavior, and judgment bias experimental techniques, should be investigated further in reptiles. We also explore the application of the Welfare Quality® Protocol to the pygmy blue-tongue skink, an endangered species. This application presents examples of predominantly animal-based indicators that may be further investigated for use in a tool in this, and other reptile species.AbstractReptiles are held at wildlife parks and zoos for display and conservation breeding programs and are increasingly being kept as pets. Reliable indicators of welfare for reptiles need to be identified. Current guidelines for the captive management of reptiles utilize resource-based, rather than animal-based indicators; the latter being a more direct reflection of affective state. In this paper we review the literature on welfare assessment methods in reptiles with a focus on animal-based measures. We conclude that, whilst a number of physiological and behavioral indicators of welfare have been applied in reptiles, there is need for further validation of these methods across the diversity of species within the Class. Methods of positive welfare state assessment are comparatively understudied and need elucidation. Finally, we examine some widely-used welfare assessment tools in mammals and explore the application of the Welfare Quality® Protocol to the endangered pygmy blue-tongue skink, Tiliqua adelaidensis. We propose that this framework can form the basis for the development of taxon-specific tools with consideration of species-specific biology.

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“…This is perhaps partly due to their categorisation as asocial animals (Doody et al 2013 ), since gaze following is considered advantageous in those taxa where conspecifics routinely interact. Recently, however, the existing taxonomically constrained hypothesis has undergone challenge with gaze following reported in red-footed tortoises (Wilkinson et al 2010 ) and bearded dragons (Siviter et al 2017 ). Such evidence has led to speculation that gaze-following ability may have deep evolutionary origins, originating in the common ancestor shared with birds and mammals 280 MYA (Wilkinson et al 2010 ; Alföldi et al 2011 ; Doody et al 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Squamates show visual sensitivity in relation to predation risk, actively averting their gaze when approached and stared at by a human ‘predator’ coming directly toward them but not exhibiting this behaviour when approached diagonally (Burger et al 1992 ; Elmasri et al 2012 ; Sreekar and Quader 2013 ). Siviter et al ( 2017 ) recently showed that bearded dragons ( Pongo vitticeps ) are able to follow the gaze of another individual around a barrier into distant space. Therefore, with evidence for some level of gaze-associated cognitive ability in other lizard species, leopard geckos provide a useful comparison to help reveal the extent of social cognition in otherwise asocial reptiles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaze following in an asocial reptile (Eublepharis macularius)

Simpson

O’Hara

2018

Anim Cogn

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Gaze following is the ability to utilise information from another’s gaze. It is most often seen in a social context or as a reflexive response to interesting external stimuli. Social species can potentially reveal utilisable knowledge about another’s future intentions by attending to the target of their gaze. However, in even more fundamental situations, being sensitive to another’s gaze can also be useful such as when it can facilitate greater foraging efficiency or lead to earlier predator detection. While gaze sensitivity has been shown to be prevalent in a number of social species, little is currently known about the potential for gaze following in asocial species. The current study investigated whether an asocial reptile, the leopard gecko ( Eublepharis macularius ), could reliably use the visual indicators of attention to follow the gaze of a conspecific around a barrier. We operated three trial conditions and found subjects ( N = 6) responded significantly more to the conspecific demonstrator looking up at a laser stimulus projected onto an occluder during the experimental condition compared to either of two control conditions. The study’s findings point toward growing evidence for gaze-following ability in reptiles, who are typically categorised as asocial. Furthermore, our findings support developing comparative social cognition research showing the origins of gaze following and other cognitive behaviours that may be more widely distributed across taxonomic groups than hitherto thought.

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Incubation environment impacts the social cognition of adult lizards

Cited by 39 publications

References 34 publications

Non-avian reptile learning 40 years on: advances and promising new directions

Non-avian reptile learning 40 years on: advances and promising new directions

A Review of Welfare Assessment Methods in Reptiles, and Preliminary Application of the Welfare Quality® Protocol to the Pygmy Blue-Tongue Skink, Tiliqua adelaidensis, Using Animal-Based Measures

Gaze following in an asocial reptile (Eublepharis macularius)

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