The face of animal cognition

Healy, Susan D.

doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12361

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 146 publications

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“…Behavioural strategies in response to current conditions are contextspecific (based on social and environmental factors) and informed by the evaluation of associated costs and benefits [56], but these strategies may become maladaptive under the unpredictability or novelty of some conditions, such as unprecedented noise from anthropogenic activity [57]. Following amassing evidence regarding the perceptual and cognitive capacities of non-human animals [58,59], and indications that these capacities can be used when evaluating resources and assessing opponents [23], our findings highlight the need for new approaches to better understand the intricate ways in which human activity can influence fitness-related behaviour in other species. The impact on perceived or attributed value can have extensive effects on the desirability of resources and, thus, future studies are merited to further test this process both in the wild and under controlled manipulations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extrinsic stressors modulate resource evaluations: insights from territoriality under artificial noise

2021

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Background Competition is considered to rely on the value attributed to resources by animals, but the influence of extrinsic stressors on this value remains unexplored. Although natural or anthropogenic environmental stress often drives decreased competition, assumptions that this relies on resource devaluation are without formal evidence. According to theory, physiological or perceptual effects may influence contest behaviour directly, but motivational changes due to resource value are expected to manifest as behavioural adjustments only in interaction with attainment costs and resource benefits. Thus, we hypothesise that stressor-induced resource devaluations will impose greater effects when attainment costs are high, but not when resource benefits are higher. Noise may elicit such effects because it impacts the acoustic environment and imposes physiological and behavioural costs to animals. Therefore, we manipulated the acoustic environment using playbacks of artificial noise to test our hypotheses in the territorial male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Results Compared to a no-playback control, noise reduced defense motivation only when territory owners faced comparatively bigger opponents that impose greater injury costs, but not when territories also contained bubble nests that offer reproductive benefits. In turn, nest-size decreases were noted only after contests under noise treatment, but temporal nest-size changes relied on cross-contest variation in noise and comparative opponent size. Thus, the combined effects of noise are conditional on added attainment costs and offset by exceeding resource benefits. Conclusion Our findings provide support for the hypothesised modulation of resource value under extrinsic stress and suggest implications for competition under increasing anthropogenic activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extrinsic stressors modulate resource evaluations: insights from territoriality under artificial noise

2021

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“…It is worth noting that feats once considered unique for mammals (particularly primates), such as tool use or self-recognition in a mirror, are now being reported more frequently in birds and other taxa too (Healy, 2019). Indeed, tool use was recently documented for the first time in reptiles.…”

Section: Phylogenymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reinstating reptiles: from clueless creatures to esteemed models of cognitive biology

Meester

Baeckens

2021

Behav.

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Non-avian reptiles have long been neglect in cognitive science due to their reputation as slow and inflexible learners, but fortunately, this archaic view on reptile cognition is changing rapidly. The last two decades have witnessed a renewed interest in the cognitive capacities of reptiles, and more ecologically relevant protocols have been designed to measure such abilities. Now, we appreciate that reptiles possess an impressive set of cognitive skills, including problem-solving abilities, fast and flexible learning, quantity discrimination, and even social learning. This special issue highlights current research on reptiles in cognitive biology and showcases the diversity of research questions that can be answered by using reptiles as study model. Here, we briefly address (the key results of) the contributing articles and their role in the endeavour for total inclusion of reptiles in cognitive biological research, which is instrumental for our understanding of the evolution of animal cognition. We also discuss and illustrate the promising potential of reptiles as model organisms in various areas of cognitive research.

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“…Such systems promote and enhance reproducibility, a critical need in contemporary behavioural research. However, the wide-spread use of a small number of proprietary platforms has, over the years, skewed animal learning and cognition research toward a limited number of study species, including pigeons, rodents, primates, corvids and more recently dogs (Healy, 2019; Shettleworth, 2009) for which such platforms exist. We aim to mitigate this bias by presenting a platform appropriate for fish experiments, that affords all these advantages while being cheap and made of easily sourceable components, as well as being controllable by open source software.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GoFish: A low-cost, open-source platform for closed-loop behavioural experiments on fish

Ajuwon

Cruz

Carrico

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Fish are the most species-rich vertebrate group, displaying vast ecological, anatomical and behavioural diversity, and therefore are of major interest for the study of behaviour and its evolution. Despite this, with respect to other vertebrates, fish are relatively underrepresented in behavioural research. This is partly due to the difficulty of implementing stimuli, manipulanda, and data recording underwater, meaning that this is frequently done with gates to control subjects, physical displays as stimuli, and visual annotation of videos to record data. To overcome these restrictions we developed GoFish, a fully-automated platform for behavioural experiments. GoFish includes real-time video tracking of subjects, presentation of stimuli in a computer screen, an automatic feeder device, and closed-loop control of task contingencies and data acquisition. The design and software components of the platform are freely available, while the hardware is widely available and relatively inexpensive. The control software, Bonsai, is user-friendly and supported by a growing community of users. As an illustration and test of its use, we present the results of 2 experiments on discrimination learning, reversal, and choice in goldfish (Carassius auratus). GoFish enables the relatively easy implementation of high-throughput tasks and the acquisition of rich behavioural data. Our platform has the potential to become a widely used tool that facilitates complex behavioural experiments in aquatic species.

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The face of animal cognition

Cited by 14 publications

References 146 publications

Extrinsic stressors modulate resource evaluations: insights from territoriality under artificial noise

Extrinsic stressors modulate resource evaluations: insights from territoriality under artificial noise

Reinstating reptiles: from clueless creatures to esteemed models of cognitive biology

GoFish: A low-cost, open-source platform for closed-loop behavioural experiments on fish

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