A5102975145- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Animal Nutrition and Physiology
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Plant and animal studies
- Child and Animal Learning Development
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Amphibian and Reptile Biology
University of Exeter
2019
University of St Andrews
2013-2017
University of Cambridge
2015
Significance Although scientists have identified surprising cognitive flexibility in animals and potentially unique features of human psychology, we know less about the selective forces that favor evolution, or proximate biological mechanisms underlying this process. We tested 36 species two problem-solving tasks measuring self-control evaluated leading hypotheses regarding how why cognition evolves. Across species, differences absolute (not relative) brain volume best predicted performance...
The 'cognitive capacity hypothesis' states that song complexity could potentially be used by prospective mates to assess an individual's overall cognitive ability. Several recent studies have provided support for the hypothesis, demonstrating individuals with more complex songs or larger repertoires performed better on various learning tasks. These all measured individuals' performance in social isolation. However, gregarious species such as zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, testing a group...
In this report we analyse the cognitive performance of New Zealand Robins (Petroica longipes) using facet theory, smallest space analysis (SSA) and partial order scalogram (POSA). The data set was originally subjected to principle component in develop a test-battery for avian performance. We extend these analyses by proposing two rather than single solution SSA characterize individual birds their scores on all tasks POSA. note problems with small sample size call our exploratory be...
Recent studies suggest that individuals with better problem‐solving and/or learning performance have greater reproductive success, and may thus benefit from choosing mates based on these performances. However, directly assessing performances in candidate could be difficult. Instead, the use of indirect cues related to performance, such as condition‐dependent phenotypic traits, might favored. We investigated whether a novel non‐foraging task correlated sexually selected plumage colouration...