Extraordinary large brains in tool-using New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides)

Cnotka, Julia; Güntürkün, Onur; Rehkämper, Gerd; Gray, Russell D.; Hunt, Gavin R.

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.01.026

Cited by 78 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…NC crows also appear to have relatively large brains, even among highly encephalized corvids (Cnotka, Güntürkün, Rehkämper, Gray, & Hunt, 2008;Mehlhorn et al, 2010). In the wild, NC crows are one of the few species that habitually manufacture tools, and the diversity of tools that they manufacture is matched only by chimpanzees (Whiten et al, 1999) and orangutans (van Schaik et al, 2003).…”

Section: Jennifer C Hmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social learning in New Caledonian crows

Holzhaider

Hunt

Gray

2010

Learning & Behavior

107

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New Caledonian (NC) crows are the most sophisticated tool manufacturers other than humans. The diversification and geographical distribution of their three Pandanus tool designs that differ in complexity, as well as the lack of ecological correlates, suggest that cumulative technological change has taken place. To investigate the p possibility that high-fidelity social transmission mediated this putative ratchet-like process, we studied the ontogeny of Pandanus tool manufacture and social organization in free-living NC crows. We found that juvenile crows took more than 1 year to reach adult proficiency in their Pandanus tool skills. Although trial-and-error learning is clearly important, juveniles have ample opportunity to learn about Pandanus tool manufacture by both observing their parents and interacting with artifactual material. The crows' social system seems likely to promote the faithful social transmission of local tool designs by both favoring the vertical transmission of tool information and minimizing horizontal transmission. We suggest that NC crows develop their Pandanus tool skills in a highly scaffolded learning environment that facilitates the cumulative technological evolution of tool designs.

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Section: Jennifer C Hmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social learning in New Caledonian crows

Holzhaider

Hunt

Gray

2010

Learning & Behavior

107

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“…Cnotka et al (2008) reported that the NC crow's brain was relatively larger than the brain of the carrion crow (C. corone), but questions have been raised about the statistical methods that were used (Medina, 2013). More recent data show that the NC crow's brain size (mean of 7.56 g for 5 birds averaging 277 g bodyweight; Cnotka et al, 2008) is comparable to that of the considerably larger rook (C. frugilegus) introduced into New Zealand (mean of 7.60 g for 5 birds averaging 456 g bodyweight; GRH unpublished data). This comparison suggests that the NC crow has a brain relatively larger than at least one other Corvus species.…”

Section: Figures 1c and 1d)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A complex adaptive system may be essential for cumulative modifications in tool design

Hunt¹,

Uomini

2016

Japanese Journal of Animal Psychology

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The cumulative modification of tool designs over time is a crucial development for technological evolution. Cognitive-related prerequisites for this technological capability are innovative behaviour and the faithful inter-generational transmission and maintenance of tool designs by accurate social learning processes. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that a complex of morphological and behavioural adaptations specifically for tool skills is also required. In a novel analysis we compared the tool-associated adaptive patterns in Homo erectus and the New Caledonian crow. Both species provide the most convincing early Homo and nonhuman evidence, respectively, for the making of cumulatively modified tools. We identified probable shared traits in H. erectus and the New Caledonian crow that include morphological adaptations specifically for enhanced tool manipulation and a significant component of daily diet from hunting and/or processing animal food with tools. We propose that a tool-using lifestyle based on animal food that confers a reproductive advantage and evolves enhanced tool manipulation skills, together with appropriate innovative ability and social learning processes, may be essential for cumulative modification of tool designs.

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“…The traditional approach has been to make gross comparisons of overall brain volume relative to body size, usually factoring in that smaller animals have a larger surface area compared to their volume, resulting in proportionally larger brains (e.g., Jerison, 1973). The resulting encephalization quotient comes in several versions; regardless, animals thought of as cognitively complex -including the four groups we are discussing -always have brains larger than expected from their body size (e.g., Cnotka, Güntürkün, Rehkämper, Gray, & Hunt, 2008;Iwaniuk & Hurd, 2005;Marino, 2002;Roth & Dicke, 2005). Brain-to-body-size measures have been used to find many correlations with varying types of behavioral flexibility (e.g., Reader & Laland, 2002;Sol, 2009).…”

Section: Parallel or Convergent Brains?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Independent Evolution of Similar Complex Cognitive Skills: The Importance of Embodied Degrees of Freedom

Osvath¹,

Kabadayi²,

Jacobs³

2014

ABC

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-Recent years have seen acknowledgment from a number of researchers that similarities appear to exist in complex cognitive skills of distantly related species -most notably in corvids, parrots, delphinids, and great apes. Discoveries on complex cognitive skills in common hold the promise of interesting and fruitful new perspectives on cognition. That said, some theoretical approaches seem largely to be lacking. We draw attention to the importance of pre-existing constraints on and freedoms of the evolving animal, which might prove as important as external selective pressures in understanding the evolution of cognition. To elucidate our point, we briefly describe one contemporary cognitive-science approach to cognition. Accounts on cognitive evolution both in behavioral ecology and animal cognition are often hampered by simplistic input-output-based views on cognition. Cognition -in particular complex cognition -may influence animal behaviors in ways that cannot be captured by a purely selectionist account. We discuss the evolutionary processes underlying independently evolved yet similar characters. We highlight the importance of the difference between parallel and convergent evolution in understanding whether complex cognition arises repeatedly only through similar selective pressures; or whether underlying, previously evolved structures are crucial for the occurrence of cognitive similarities. In conclusion we suggest that the developmental sequences leading to apparently similar cognitive skills require further investigation to reveal the evolutionary processes behind them. Our aim is not one of providing ultimate answers to the questions we raise; instead, we draw attention to their existence, the better that they may be addressed. Keywords -Convergent evolution, Embodied cognition, Animal cognition, Complex cognition.Through first half of the 20th Century, the same learning processes were believed to apply to all vertebrates; studying a range of species was unnecessary. Humans were thought to be the only creatures possessing complex cognition. With developments in animal cognition, the picture gradually changed. The field has been growing, as has the number of species studied (Shettleworth, 2009). The realization came that, although many species share many basic cognitive skills, several cognitive expressions diverge. The idea that humans have a cognitive complexity well beyond the rest of the animal kingdom has been called into question. This began with great apes, whose cognitive capacities impressed, largely because of the similarity to our own capacities. Soon other taxa -e.g., corvids, parrots, and delphinidswere shown capable of comparable feats.From a phylogenetic perspective, it was not surprising that our closest living relatives should share many cognitive skills with us. Emphasis has instead been placed on detailing the divergences between humans and other great apes, the better to understand what makes us unique. Far less attention has been paid to the theoretical implications of findin...

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Extraordinary large brains in tool-using New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides)

Cited by 78 publications

References 41 publications

Social learning in New Caledonian crows

Social learning in New Caledonian crows

A complex adaptive system may be essential for cumulative modifications in tool design

Independent Evolution of Similar Complex Cognitive Skills: The Importance of Embodied Degrees of Freedom

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