Can hook-bending be let off the hook? Bending/unbending of pliant tools by cockatoos

Laumer, I. B.; Bugnyar, Thomas; Reber, Stephan A.; Auersperg, Alice M. I.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.1026

Cited by 32 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Tool use innovations can be transmitted to naïve individuals by emulation learning and tool-using subjects are thereafter able to independently innovate tool manufacture (Auersperg et al, 2014). The birds respond flexibly, not only when choosing a tool, but also when making different tools from different materials depending on the problem at hand (Auersperg et al, 2016;Laumer et al, 2016Laumer et al, , 2017Habl & Auersperg, 2017;Auersperg et al, in press). It was also shown that they keep their tools safe in between foraging bouts (Auersperg et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the ecology of the Goffin's cockatoo remained largely unknown before we started our field research on this species (however, see Mioduszewska et al, submitted). Present knowledge from captivity suggests that the tool-related capacities of Goffin's cockatoos stem from domain general processing, which, in turn, could represent an adaptation to opportunistic extractive foraging (Laumer et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extraction without tooling around — The first comprehensive description of the foraging- and socio-ecology of wild Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)

O’Hara

Mioduszewska

Haryoko

et al. 2019

Behav.

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When tested under laboratory conditions, Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) demonstrate numerous sophisticated cognitive skills. Most importantly, this species has shown the ability to manufacture and use tools. However, little is known about the ecology of these cockatoos, endemic to the Tanimbar Islands in Indonesia. Here we provide first insights into the feeding- and socio-ecology of the wild Goffin’s cockatoos and propose potential links between their behaviour in natural settings and their advanced problem-solving capacities shown in captivity. Observational data suggests that Goffin’s cockatoos rely on a large variety of partially seasonal resources. Furthermore, several food types require different extraction techniques. These ecological and behavioural characteristics fall in line with current hypotheses regarding the evolution of complex cognition and innovativeness. We discuss how the efficiency of (extractive) foraging may preclude tool use in wild Goffin’s cockatoos, even though the corresponding cognitive and ecological prerequisites seem to be present.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extraction without tooling around — The first comprehensive description of the foraging- and socio-ecology of wild Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)

O’Hara

Mioduszewska

Haryoko

et al. 2019

Behav.

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“…We recently learned that Goffin’s cockatoos can innovatively manufacture the same (long stick-type) tool from different material sources [ 15 , 23 , 28 ]. Two subjects were able to fabric such tools from materials that required active shape-giving, such as cardboard [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tool making cockatoos adjust the lengths but not the widths of their tools to function

2018

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The ability to innovatively use or even manufacture different tools depending on a current situation can be silhouetted against examples of stereotyped, inborn tool use/manufacture and is thus often associated to advanced cognitive processing. In this study we confronted non-specialized, yet innovative tool making birds, Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana), with an apparatus featuring an out-of-reach food reward that could be placed at different distances from a tool opening. Alternatively, the food stayed at a constant distance but the tool opening in the front of the apparatus had different diameters. We used a novel material for tool manufacture (cardboard) that demanded an incrementally increased manufacturing effort from the actor, depending on the length of the tool required. We found that our subjects used two strategies to succeed in this tasks: either by making carboard-stripe tools using the full length of the material sheets originally offered or by adjusting the lengths of their tools to different goal distances. Subjects also discarded cardboard stripes that were too short to reach the goal prior to use and discarded longer pieces when the goal was further away than when it was close. Nevertheless, likely due to morphological constraints, the birds failed to adjust the widths of their tools depending on the diameter of the tool opening.

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“…beak phenotypes might be retained if they are efficient for processing nonfavored resources, particularly if the favored resource is periodically limited (i.e., Liem's paradox;Liem 1980;Tebbich et al 2004). Furthermore, in addition to feeding and foraging, birds use their beaks for a plethora of other tasks, such as preening (Moyer et al 2002;Clayton et al 2005), vocal modulation (Podos 2001;Herrel et al 2009), thermoregulation (Tattersall et al 2009;van De Ven et al 2016) and water balance (Greenberg et al 2012), tool use (Weir et al 2002;Wimpenny et al 2009;Laumer et al 2017), nest construction (Hansell 2000), and as a display structure (Navarro et al 2009). This functional and behavioral flexibility implies that multiple selective pressures likely played important roles in shaping beak evolution.…”

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confidence: 99%

The evolutionary relationship among beak shape, mechanical advantage, and feeding ecology in modern birds*

et al. 2018

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Extensive research on avian adaptive radiations has led to a presumption that beak morphology predicts feeding ecology in birds. However, this ecomorphological relationship has only been quantified in a handful of avian lineages, where associations are of variable strength, and never at a broad macroevolutionary scale. Here, we used shape analysis and phylogenetic comparative methods to quantify the relationships among beak shape, mechanical advantage, and two measures of feeding ecology (feeding behavior and semiquantitative dietary preferences) in a broad sample of modern birds, comprising most living orders. We found a complex relationship, with most variables showing a significant relationship with feeding ecology but little explanatory power. For example, diet accounts for less than 12% of beak shape variation. Similar beak shapes are associated with disparate dietary regimes, even when accounting for diet‐feeding behavior relationships and phylogeny. Very few lineages optimize for stronger bite forces, with most birds exhibiting relatively fast, weak bites, even in large predatory taxa. The extreme morphological and behavioral flexibility of the beak in birds suggests that, far from being an exemplary feeding adaptation, avian beak diversification may have been largely contingent on trade‐offs and constraints.

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Can hook-bending be let off the hook? Bending/unbending of pliant tools by cockatoos

Cited by 32 publications

References 28 publications

Extraction without tooling around — The first comprehensive description of the foraging- and socio-ecology of wild Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)

Extraction without tooling around — The first comprehensive description of the foraging- and socio-ecology of wild Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)

Tool making cockatoos adjust the lengths but not the widths of their tools to function

The evolutionary relationship among beak shape, mechanical advantage, and feeding ecology in modern birds*

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