A5078675562- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Animal Nutrition and Physiology
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Amphibian and Reptile Biology
- Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Sleep and related disorders
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
- Plant and animal studies
- Livestock and Poultry Management
- Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Economic and Environmental Valuation
- Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Marine animal studies overview
- Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical Outcomes
- Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Child and Animal Learning Development
- Hip and Femur Fractures
- Categorization, perception, and language
University of Exeter
2016-2025
Singer (United States)
2017-2020
Queen Mary University of London
2011-2018
Google (United States)
2018
Phillips Exeter Academy
2017
Victoria University of Wellington
2007-2011
Rates of innovative foraging behaviours and success on problem-solving tasks are often used to assay differences in cognition, both within across species. Yet the cognitive features some can be unclear. As such, explanations that attribute mechanisms individual variation performance have revealed conflicting results. We investigated consistency performances captive-reared pheasant chicks, Phasianus colchicus, addressed whether depends processes, such as trial-and-error associative learning,...
Transparent Cylinder and Barrier tasks are used to purportedly assess inhibitory control in a variety of animals. However, we suspect that performances on these detour influenced by non-cognitive traits, which may result inaccurate assays control. We therefore reared pheasants under standardized conditions presented each bird with two sets similar commonly measure recorded the number times subjects incorrectly attempted access reward through transparent barriers, their latencies solve task....
Cognitive abilities probably evolve through natural selection if they provide individuals with fitness benefits. A growing number of studies demonstrate a positive relationship between performance in psychometric tasks and (proxy) measures fitness. We assayed the 154 common pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ) chicks on tests acquisition reversal learning, using different set cue types (spatial location colour) each two years then followed their fates after release into wild. Across all birds,...
The playful (i.e., not overtly functional) combination of objects is considered a potential ontogenetic and phylogenetic precursor technical problem solving abilities, as it may lead to affordance learning honing mechanical skills. We compared such activities in 6 avian species: 3 psittaciforms (black-headed caiques, red-shouldered macaws, Goffin cockatoos) corvids (New Caledonian crows, ravens, jackdaws). Differences the type frequency object combinations were consistent with species'...
Renewed interest in the field of comparative cognition over past 30 years has led to a renaissance our thinking how evolved. Here, we review historical and approaches study psychological evolution, focusing on cognitive differences based evolutionary divergence, but also similarities convergence. Both have contributed major theories evolution humans non-human animals. As result, not only furthered understanding human mind its unique attributes, identified complex capacities few large-brained...
To understand the evolution of cognitive abilities, we need to both how selection acts upon them and their genetic (co)variance structure. Recent work suggests that there are fitness consequences for free-living individuals with particular abilities. However, our current understanding heritability these abilities is restricted domesticated species subjected artificial selection. We investigated variance for, correlations among four abilities: inhibitory control, visual spatial...
Dominant individuals differ from subordinates in their performances on cognitive tasks across a suite of taxa. Previous studies often only consider dyadic relationships, rather than the more ecologically relevant social hierarchies or networks, hence failing to account for how relationships may be adjusted within larger groups. We used novel statistical method: randomized Elo-ratings, infer hierarchy 18 male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus , while captive, mixed-sex group with linear...
Abstract Allogrooming in primates serves not only a hygienic function, but also plays crucial role maintaining strong affiliative bonds between group members, which turn, underpin the emergence of cooperative behavior. In contrast, although allopreening occurs many avian species, we know little about its social functions. Our study addresses this issue by investigating broad comparative data set including six corvid and nine parrot species. We assessed whether rates initiations, proportion...
Abstract Cognitive biases for encoding spatial information (orientation strategies) in relation to self (egocentric) or landmarks (allocentric) differ between species populations according the habitats they occupy. Whether orientation strategy determine early habitat selection if individuals adapt their following experience is unknown. We determined strategies of pheasants, Phasianus colchicus , using a dual‐strategy maze with an allocentric probe trial, before releasing them ( n = 20) into...
Intra-individual variation in performance within and across cognitive domains may confound interpretations of both domain-general domain-specific abilities. Such is rarely considered animal test batteries. We investigate individual consistency by presenting pheasant chicks ( n = 31), raised under standardized conditions, with nine different tasks. Among these tasks were two replicated novel variants colour learning reversal problems, tests positional memory, as well that captured multiple...
To understand how natural selection may act on cognitive processes, it is necessary to reliably determine interindividual variation in abilities. However, an individual's performance a test be influenced by the social environment. The environment explains between species performances, with that live larger groups purportedly demonstrating more advanced It also performances within species, likely solve novel problems than smaller groups. Surprisingly, effect of group size individual has...
The ability to control impulsive actions is an important executive function that central the self-regulation of behaviours and, in humans, can have implications for mental and physical health. One key factor promotes individual differences inhibitory (IC) predictability environmental information experienced during development (i.e. reliability resources social trust). However, also influence motivational other cognitive abilities, which may therefore confound interpretations mechanisms...
Global initiatives that promote public health responses to dementia have resulted in numerous countries developing new national policies. Current policy guidelines England, for example, recommend people diagnosed with mild-to-moderate receive information and psychosocial interventions improve their ability 'live well'. However, it remains unclear what extent these recommendations are being achieved.Self-reported from 1537 living informant-reported 1277 carers of was used quantify receipt...
Inhibitory control enables subjects to quickly react unexpectedly changing external demands. We assessed the ability of young (8 weeks old) pheasants Phasianus colchicus exert inhibitory in a novel response-inhibition task that required adjust their movement space pursuit reward across target locations. The difference latencies between trials which location did and not change, distance travelled towards initially indicated after change occurred, change-signal reaction time provided...
Individual differences in performances on cognitive tasks have been found to differ according social rank across multiple species. However, it is not clear whether an individual's performance flexible and the result of their current rank, modulated by interactions (social state dependent hypothesis), or if determined prior formation hierarchy indeed influences (prior attributes hypothesis). We separated these two hypotheses measuring learning male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus, a spatial...
Sexual segregation is common and can occur when sexes occupy different habitats, and/or aggregate assortatively within the same habitats. However, it rarely studied in birds, with most previous work concentrating on differential settlement by discrete often separated large distances. Little attention has been paid to patterns of site. We reared 200 Common Pheasants Phasianus colchicus released them onto a relatively small site 250 ha recorded their association use artificial feeders space...
Abstract Brain lateralization is considered adaptive because it leads to behavioral biases and specializations that bring fitness benefits. Across species, strongly lateralized individuals perform better in specific behaviors likely improve survival. What constrains continued exaggerated lateralization? We measured survival of pheasants, finding with stronger bias their footedness had shorter life expectancies compared weak biases. Consequently, weak, or no provided the highest If, as...