Neophobia and innovation in critically endangered Bali myna,Leucopsar rothschildi

Abstract

Cognition underlies animal behaviour, which is key to successful conservation strategies, yet largely under-utilised in conservation, though there are recent calls for closer integration. Conservation-relevant cognitive abilities can impact on adaptability and survival, such as neophobia, e.g., responses to novelty, and innovation e.g., problem-solving, particularly in today’s changing world. Bali myna are a critically endangered endemic species, which are a focus of active conservation efforts, including reintroductions. Therefore, gathering cognitive data can aid in improving and developing conservation strategies, like pre-release training and individual selection for release. In 22 captive Bali myna, we tested neophobia (novel object, novel food, control conditions), innovation (bark, cup, lid conditions) and individual repeatability. We found effects of condition and social environment, including longer latencies to touch familiar food in presence than absence of novel items, and between problem-solving tasks, as well as in the presence of conspecifics, compared with being alone, or with conspecifics and competing heterospecifics. Individuals were repeatable in latency responses: 1) temporally in both experiments; 2) contextually in innovation experiment and between both experiments (and approach order), suggesting a stable behaviour trait. These findings are an important starting point for improving conservation strategies in Bali myna and other similarly threatened species.

Increasing animal cognition research in zoos

“…Anecdotally, while only one subject touched the novel object, four of nine subjects (44.5%) pecked at the novel food (jelly). Using a comparable paradigm, only 20% of (241) corvids (Miller et al, 2021) and 0% of (22) Bali myna touched the novel food (Miller et al, 2021). This finding in hornbills may be related to their mainly frugivorous diet (Naniwadekar et al, 2015), which leads them to be more likely to identify the vibrant colors or smell of the orange jelly as a potential food source.…”

“…As mentioned in Table 1, one of the main challenges of performing cognitive research in zoological facilities is the small sample sizes in the zoo and the potential issue of site differences (e.g., enclosure size, mixed species exhibits). As this paradigm was quick to perform, simple and did not require any human‐subject interaction, it was deemed a perfect methodology for further testing with multiple zoos (e.g., similar approach with Bali myna in Miller, Garcia‐Pelegrin, et al, 2021). Furthermore, one simple way to manage site differences is to compare the experimental responses to a control baseline within each site, which is possible with this paradigm as it includes a familiar food condition (i.e., presented without a novel item).…”

“…We will then give a transparent, honest account of the potential challenges, before we demonstrate strategies to address them. The authors are experienced in animal cognition and behavior research, conducted in zoos (e.g., Clark, 2017; Clark et al, 2019; Miller et al, 2014; Miller, Garcia‐Pelegrin et al, 2021), laboratories and the field. In addition, all authors have worked within UK zoos in other capacities, including as Animal Keepers (Rachael Miller and Elias Garcia‐Pelegrin), as Avian Research Coordinator (Rachael Miller) and Research Officer (Fay Clark).…”

The influence of partner presence and association strength on neophobia in tokay geckos

“…On the other hand, avoiding novelty might limit opportunities to discover new resources, to learn or innovate [1,[4][5]. Across species, neophobia differs depending on the trophic level a species occupies [6][7][8], their evolutionary history (innate recognition) [1,[9][10], their diet [11] and their tendency to exploit new habitats (tolerance to urban environments, invasiveness or frequent migration) [1,12]. While within species, neophobic responses might depend on experience and the ability to generalise across stimuli (cognitive skill) [2], the testing conditions including the familiarity of the environment [1,13] and the presence or absence of conspecifics [14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…While within species, neophobic responses might depend on experience and the ability to generalise across stimuli (cognitive skill) [2], the testing conditions including the familiarity of the environment [1,13] and the presence or absence of conspecifics [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Overall, how strongly neophobia is expressed is therefore determined by an individuals' cognitive skills, the past and current environment (social and non-social) an individual is experiencing and a species' evolutionary background [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”