Individual variation in cognitive style reflects foraging and anti-predator strategies in a small mammal

Mazza, Valeria; Jacob, Jens; Dammhahn, Melanie; Zaccaroni, Marco; Eccard, Jana A.

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46582-1

Cited by 43 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(123 reference statements)

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“…5), whereas fast individuals were more likely to prioritise the visible high value food. This also supports the pace of life syndrome hypothesis (Réale et al, 2010;Hall et al, 2015), where fast individuals prioritise immediate foraging at the risk of increased predation, and slow individuals do the opposite (Stamps, 2007;Biro and Stamps, 2008;Mazza et al, 2019).…”

Section: Personalitysupporting

confidence: 77%

Inhibitory control, personality, and manipulated ecological conditions influence foraging plasticity in the great tit

Coomes

Davidson

Reichert

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Organisms are consistently under selection to respond effectively to a diversity of, sometimes rapid, changes in their environment. Behavioural plasticity can allow individuals to do so instantaneously, but why individuals vary in this respect is poorly understood. Although personality and cognitive traits are often hypothesised to influence plasticity, the effects reported are highly inconsistent, which we hypothesise is because ecological context is usually not considered.Here we explore the roles of individual cognitive and personality variation – assayed using standard tasks for inhibitory control, a measure of self-control, and ‘reactive-proactive’ personality axis (RPPA), respectively – in driving foraging plasticity, and asked how these effects varied across two experimentally manipulated ecological contexts: food value and predation risk.After great tits (Parus major) had initially been trained to retrieve high value food hidden in sand, they were then simultaneously offered the hidden food and an alternative food choice on the surface, that was either high or low value. Their choices were further examined under high and low perceived predation risk treatments. Individuals’ choices were classified in terms of whether they continued to forage on the hidden but familiar food source, or instead switched to the new visible food source. We defined the latter option as the plastic response.Our assays captured consistent differences among individuals in foraging behaviour. Both inhibitory control and exploration influenced whether birds switched from the familiar but hidden food source to the new alternative visible food on the surface. These effects depended on the relative value of the food items available and on the perceived level of predation risk, but also on the time scale over which the response was measured.Our results demonstrate how an executive cognitive function and one specific personality axis can simultaneously influence plasticity in a key functional behaviour. That their effects on foraging were primarily observed as interactions with food value or predation risk treatments also suggest that the population level consequences of behavioural mechanisms, such as these, may only be revealed across key ecological conditions or gradients.

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Section: Personalitysupporting

confidence: 77%

Inhibitory control, personality, and manipulated ecological conditions influence foraging plasticity in the great tit

Coomes

Davidson

Reichert

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…[119][120][121][122] ) and yield biologically meaningful measures of what is intended to measure (e.g. 36,60,61,123 ). Albeit a test developed for one species/taxon is not necessarily appropriate as a test for another (e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…127 ), use of resources and foraging strategies (e.g. 36 ), and mating and reproductive decisions (e.g. 141 ).…”

Section: Capturementioning

confidence: 99%

Of city and village mice: behavioural adjustments of striped field mice to urban environments

Dammhahn

Mazza

Schirmer

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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A fundamental question of current ecological research concerns the drives and limits of species responses to human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). Behavioural responses to HIREC are a key component because behaviour links individual responses to population and community changes. Ongoing fast urbanization provides an ideal setting to test the functional role of behaviour for responses to HIREC. Consistent behavioural differences between conspecifics (animal personality) may be important determinants or constraints of animals' adaptation to urban habitats. We tested whether urban and rural populations of small mammals differ in mean trait expression, flexibility and repeatability of behaviours associated to risk-taking and exploratory tendencies. Using a standardized behavioural test in the field, we quantified spatial exploration and boldness of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius, n = 96) from nine sub-populations, presenting different levels of urbanisation and anthropogenic disturbance. The level of urbanisation positively correlated with boldness, spatial exploration and behavioural flexibility, with urban dwellers being bolder, more explorative and more flexible in some traits than rural conspecifics. Thus, individuals seem to distribute in a non-random way in response to human disturbance based on their behavioural characteristics. Animal personality might therefore play a key role in successful coping with the challenges of HIREC. Urbanisation is one of the fastest-occurring and most widespread human-induced environmental changes (e.g. 1,2). As urban environments expand more and more across the globe, wildlife must either adjust to rapid changes and human-modified landscapes, or experience severe declines and, ultimately, local extinction (e.g. 2,3). The urban environment presents wildlife with novel challenges, including an altered biotic environment with anthropogenic disturbances, modified competitive interactions, new predators and parasites, as well as altered abiotic factors such as water, soil, light and air pollution, noise, soil sealing, fragmentation and traffic (e.g. 2,4,5). As a result of these human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC 5), ecosystems are experiencing sharp declines in biodiversity worldwide (e.g. 1,2). A few species, however, are thriving and occur in high numbers in urban environments. A fundamental focus of current ecological and evolutionary research is to illuminate the drivers of the success of some animals in an urbanised world 3,6,7 because these "urban laboratories" might advance our understanding of fundamental eco-evolutionary processes and key theoretical concepts, including niche construction and community assembly as well as the role humans play in eco-evolutionary dynamics 8. The ability of an animal to adjust to novel challenges is likely to contribute to its ultimate success in urban environments (e.g. 3-5,9). Behavioural adaptations are expected to play a major role in coping with HIREC because behaviour largely determines how individuals in...

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“…Comparisons within species also revealed evidence that variation in cognitive abilities is associated with parasitism (Dunn et al 2011;Bókony et al 2014), predation (Brown and Braithwaite 2005;Park et al 2008;Ferrari 2014), habitat complexity (Roth et al 2010;Tebbich and Teschke 2014;Croston et al 2017;Morand-Ferron et al 2019) or foraging behaviour (Mazza et al 2019;Sonnenberg et al 2019). However, only a few comparative studies explicitly explored which cognitive skills might be associated with which species-specific ecological challenges.…”

Section: The Link Between Cognition and Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking ecology and cognition: does ecological specialisation predict cognitive test performance?

Malsburg

Kappeler

Fichtel

2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Variation in cognitive abilities is thought to be linked to variation in brain size, which varies across species with either social factors (Social Intelligence Hypothesis) or ecological challenges (Ecological Intelligence Hypothesis). However, the nature of the ecological processes invoked by the Ecological Intelligence Hypothesis, like adaptations to certain habitat characteristics or dietary requirements, remains relatively poorly known. Here, we review comparative studies that experimentally investigated interspecific variation in cognitive performance in relation to a species’ degree of ecological specialisation. Overall, the relevant literature was biased towards studies of mammals and birds as well as studies focusing on ecological challenges related to diet. We separated ecological challenges into those related to searching for food, accessing a food item and memorising food locations. We found interspecific variation in cognitive performance that can be explained by adaptations to different foraging styles. Species-specific adaptations to certain ecological conditions, like food patch distribution, characteristics of food items or seasonality also broadly predicted variation in cognitive abilities. A species’ innovative problem-solving and spatial processing ability, for example, could be explained by its use of specific foraging techniques or search strategies, respectively. Further, habitat generalists were more likely to outperform habitat specialists. Hence, we found evidence that ecological adaptations and cognitive performance are linked and that the classification concept of ecological specialisation can explain variation in cognitive performance only with regard to habitat, but not dietary specialisation.

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Individual variation in cognitive style reflects foraging and anti-predator strategies in a small mammal

Cited by 43 publications

References 89 publications

Inhibitory control, personality, and manipulated ecological conditions influence foraging plasticity in the great tit

Inhibitory control, personality, and manipulated ecological conditions influence foraging plasticity in the great tit

Of city and village mice: behavioural adjustments of striped field mice to urban environments

Linking ecology and cognition: does ecological specialisation predict cognitive test performance?

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