Social Cognitive Evolution in Captive Foxes Is a Correlated By-Product of Experimental Domestication

Abstract

Dogs have an unusual ability for reading human communicative gestures (e.g., pointing) in comparison to either nonhuman primates (including chimpanzees) or wolves . Although this unusual communicative ability seems to have evolved during domestication , it is unclear whether this evolution occurred as a result of direct selection for this ability, as previously hypothesized , or as a correlated by-product of selection against fear and aggression toward humans--as is the case with a number of morphological and physiological changes associated with domestication . We show here that fox kits from an experimental population selectively bred over 45 years to approach humans fearlessly and nonaggressively (i.e., experimentally domesticated) are not only as skillful as dog puppies in using human gestures but are also more skilled than fox kits from a second, control population not bred for tame behavior (critically, neither population of foxes was ever bred or tested for their ability to use human gestures) . These results suggest that sociocognitive evolution has occurred in the experimental foxes, and possibly domestic dogs, as a correlated by-product of selection on systems mediating fear and aggression, and it is likely the observed social cognitive evolution did not require direct selection for improved social cognitive ability.

Assessment of nutritional interventions for modification of age-associated cognitive decline using a canine model of human aging

“…Second, humans and dogs show several parallels with respect to ageassociated brain pathology, such as amyloid-beta (Ab) deposition, ventricular enlargement and vascular changes (Cummings et al 1996a). Third, in many respects the level of cognitive function seen in dogs is comparable to that in primates, and in the case of social cognition, the dog appears uniquely linked to humans (Hare et al 2005). Last, dogs and humans have similar nutritional needs.…”

Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

“…However, the strongest support for the domestication theory comes from the famous silver fox study. Foxes selected for their tameness and willingness to approach humans showed some characteristics of dog morphology and were better at giving their attention to humans, as well as in reading human cues, than a group of wilder foxes (Hare et al 2005). Nevertheless the significance of domestication for cognitive skills in reading human states of attention remains controversial, and recent studies in wolves and chimpanzees have provided mixed results.…”

Genetic Architecture of Tameness in a Rat Model of Animal Domestication

“…These studies, some of them ongoing for several decades, involve selection for tame and aggressive behavior in lines of animals derived from wild populations. They include a fox population that has been ''domesticated'' to such an extent that the tame foxes are now similar to dogs in some respects (Hare et al 2005). They also include a population of wildcaught rats (Rattus norvegicus) that was selected for either reduced or enhanced aggression toward humans over .60 generations (Belyaev and Borodin 1982).…”