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Journal ArticleDOI

Studying the evolutionary ecology of cognition in the wild: a review of practical and conceptual challenges.

TL;DR: The evolutionary ecology of cognition in wild populations is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field providing many opportunities for advancing the understanding of how cognitive abilities have evolved, and how an evolutionary ecological framework, more generally, along with innovative technologies has the potential to revolutionise the study of Cognition in the wild.
Abstract: Cognition is defined as the processes by which animals collect, retain and use information from their environment to guide their behaviour. Thus cognition is essential in a wide range of behaviours, including foraging, avoiding predators and mating. Despite this pivotal role, the evolutionary processes shaping variation in cognitive performance among individuals in wild populations remain very poorly understood. Selection experiments in captivity suggest that cognitive traits can have substantial heritability and can undergo rapid evolution. However only a handful of studies have attempted to explore how cognition influences life-history variation and fitness in the wild, and direct evidence for the action of natural or sexual selection on cognition is still lacking, reasons for which are diverse. Here we review the current literature with a view to: (i) highlighting the key practical and conceptual challenges faced by the field; (ii) describing how to define and measure cognitive traits in natural populations, and suggesting which species, populations and cognitive traits might be examined to greatest effect; emphasis is placed on selecting traits that are linked to functional behaviour; (iii) discussing how to deal with confounding factors such as personality and motivation in field as well as captive studies; (iv) describing how to measure and interpret relationships between cognitive performance, functional behaviour and fitness, offering some suggestions as to when and what kind of selection might be predicted; and (v) showing how an evolutionary ecological framework, more generally, along with innovative technologies has the potential to revolutionise the study of cognition in the wild. We conclude that the evolutionary ecology of cognition in wild populations is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field providing many opportunities for advancing the understanding of how cognitive abilities have evolved.
Citations
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Journal Article
TL;DR: For the next few weeks the course is going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach it’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery.
Abstract: So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

9,847 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
07 Feb 2018-Nature
TL;DR: It is shown that in wild, cooperatively breeding Australian magpies, individuals that live in large groups show increased cognitive performance, which is linked to increased reproductive success, and a positive association between the task performance of females and three indicators of reproductive success is found, thus identifying a selective benefit of greater cognitive performance.
Abstract: Wild Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen dorsalis) living in large groups show increased cognitive performance, which is associated with increased reproductive success What determines general intelligence? Brain size, nutritional status and environmental factors play their part, but one of the most popular ideas is the 'social brain' hypothesis—that intelligence is related to societal complexity Most studies, however, are confounded by the fact that different species are being compared Benjamin Ashton and colleagues look at groups of different sizes in a single species, the cooperatively breeding Australian magpie They show that wild Australian magpies living in larger groups solve puzzles more quickly than those living in smaller groups Greater puzzle-solving performance is in turn related to reproductive success The social intelligence hypothesis states that the demands of social life drive cognitive evolution1,2,3 This idea receives support from comparative studies that link variation in group size or mating systems with cognitive and neuroanatomical differences across species3,4,5,6,7, but findings are contradictory and contentious8,9,10 To understand the cognitive consequences of sociality, it is also important to investigate social variation within species Here we show that in wild, cooperatively breeding Australian magpies, individuals that live in large groups show increased cognitive performance, which is linked to increased reproductive success Individual performance was highly correlated across four cognitive tasks, indicating a ‘general intelligence factor’ that underlies cognitive performance Repeated cognitive testing of juveniles at different ages showed that the correlation between group size and cognition emerged in early life, suggesting that living in larger groups promotes cognitive development Furthermore, we found a positive association between the task performance of females and three indicators of reproductive success, thus identifying a selective benefit of greater cognitive performance Together, these results provide intraspecific evidence that sociality can shape cognitive development and evolution

177 citations

References
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Book
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: The genetic constitution of a population: Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and changes in gene frequency: migration mutation, changes of variance, and heritability are studied.
Abstract: Part 1 Genetic constitution of a population: Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Part 2 Changes in gene frequency: migration mutation. Part 3 Small populations - changes in gene frequency under simplified conditions. Part 4 Small populations - less simplified conditions. Part 5 Small populations - pedigreed populations and close inbreeding. Part 6 Continuous variation. Part 7 Values and means. Part 8 Variance. Part 9 Resemblance between relatives. Part 10 Heritability. Part 11 Selection - the response and its prediction. Part 12 Selection - the results of experiments. Part 13 Selection - information from relatives. Part 14 Inbreeding and crossbreeding - changes of mean value. Part 15 Inbreeding and crossbreeding - changes of variance. Part 16 Inbreeding and crossbreeding - applications. Part 17 Scale. Part 18 Threshold characters. Part 19 Correlated characters. Part 20 Metric characters under natural selection.

20,288 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: For the next few weeks the course is going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach it’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery.
Abstract: So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

9,847 citations


"Studying the evolutionary ecology o..." refers background in this paper

  • ...(2) Quantitative genetics In addition to the strength and nature of selection, the level of any evolutionary response also depends on the narrow-sense heritability (Falconer & Mackay, 1996)....

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  • ...…to estimate heritability in populations, including parent–offspring regressions and brood swaps, all of which are described extensively elsewhere (Falconer & Mackay, 1996; Roff, 1997; Lynch & Walsh, 1998; Ellegren & Sheldon, 2008; Charmantier, Garant & Kruuk, 2014), but it is perhaps the animal…...

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  • ...The narrow-sense heritability multiplied by the standardised selection differential is known as the breeder’s equation and provides an estimate of the response to selection (Falconer & Mackay, 1996)....

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Book
01 Jan 1996
TL;DR: This book discusses the genetic Basis of Quantitative Variation, Properties of Distributions, Covariance, Regression, and Correlation, and Properties of Single Loci, and Sources of Genetic Variation for Multilocus Traits.
Abstract: I. The Genetic Basis of Quantitative Variation - An Overview of Quantitative Genetics - Properties of Distributions - Covariance, Regression, and Correlation - Properties of Single Loci - Sources of Genetic Variation for Multilocus Traits - Sources of Environmental Variation - Resemblance Between Relatives - Introduction to Matrix Algebra and Linear Models - Analysis of Line Crosses - Inbreeding Depression - Matters of Scale - II. Quantitative-Trait Loci - Polygenes and Polygenic Mutation - Detecting Major Genes - Basic Concepts of Marker-Based Analysis - Mapping and Characterizing QTLs: Inbred-Line Crosses - Mapping and Characterizing QTLs: Outbred Populations - III. Estimation Procedures - Parent-Offspring Regression - Sib AnalysisTwins and Clones - Cross-Classified Designs - Correlations Between Characters - Genotype x Environment Interaction - Maternal Effects Sex Linkage and Sexual Dimorphism - Threshold Characters - Estimation of Breeding Values - Variance-Component Estimation with Complex Pedigrees - Appendices - Expectations, Variances and Covariances of Compound Variables - Path Analysis - Matrix Algebra and Linear Models - Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Likelihood-Ratio Tests - Estimation of Power of Statistical Tests -

6,530 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In connection with a study of various aspects of the modifiability of behavior in the dancing mouse a need for definite knowledge concerning the relation of strength of stimulus to rate of learning arose, the experiments which are now to be described arose.
Abstract: In connection with a study of various aspects of the modifiability of behavior in the dancing mouse a need for definite knowledge concerning the relation of strength of stimulus to rate of learning arose. It was for the purpose of obtaining this knowledge that we planned and executed the experiments which are now to be described. Our work was greatly facilitated by the advice and assistance of Doctor E. G. MARTIN, Professor G. W. PIERCE, and Professor A. E. KENNELLY, and we desire to express here both our indebtedness and our thanks for their generous services.

5,868 citations


"Studying the evolutionary ecology o..." refers background in this paper

  • ...It has been known for a long time that behaviour in psychological tests is not only determined by the cognitive capacities of individuals, but also by motor and perceptual abilities, motivational state, and personality traits (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908; Bitterman, 1965; Kamil, 1987)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Measures of directional and stabilizing selection on each of a set of phenotypically correlated characters are derived, retrospective, based on observed changes in the multivariate distribution of characters within a generation, not on the evolutionary response to selection.
Abstract: Natural selection acts on phenotypes, regardless of their genetic basis, and produces immediate phenotypic effects within a generation that can be measured without recourse to principles of heredity or evolution. In contrast, evolutionary response to selection, the genetic change that occurs from one generation to the next, does depend on genetic variation. Animal and plant breeders routinely distinguish phenotypic selection from evolutionary response to selection (Mayo, 1980; Falconer, 1981). Upon making this critical distinction, emphasized by Haldane (1954), precise methods can be formulated for the measurement of phenotypic natural selection. Correlations between characters seriously complicate the measurement of phenotypic selection, because selection on a particular trait produces not only a direct effect on the distribution of that trait in a population, but also produces indirect effects on the distribution of correlated characters. The problem of character correlations has been largely ignored in current methods for measuring natural selection on quantitative traits. Selection has usually been treated as if it acted only on single characters (e.g., Haldane, 1954; Van Valen, 1965a; O'Donald, 1968, 1970; reviewed by Johnson, 1976 Ch. 7). This is obviously a tremendous oversimplification, since natural selection acts on many characters simultaneously and phenotypic correlations between traits are ubiquitous. In an important but neglected paper, Pearson (1903) showed that multivariate statistics could be used to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of selection to determine which traits in a correlated ensemble are the focus of direct selection. Here we extend and generalize Pearson's major results. The purpose of this paper is to derive measures of directional and stabilizing (or disruptive) selection on each of a set of phenotypically correlated characters. The analysis is retrospective, based on observed changes in the multivariate distribution of characters within a generation, not on the evolutionary response to selection. Nevertheless, the measures we propose have a close connection with equations for evolutionary change. Many other commonly used measures of the intensity of selection (such as selective mortality, change in mean fitness, variance in fitness, or estimates of particular forms of fitness functions) have little predictive value in relation to evolutionary change in quantitative traits. To demonstrate the utility of our approach, we analyze selection on four morphological characters in a population of pentatomid bugs during a brief period of high mortality. We also summarize a multivariate selection analysis on nine morphological characters of house sparrows caught in a severe winter storm, using the classic data of Bumpus (1899). Direct observations and measurements of natural selection serve to clarify one of the major factors of evolution. Critiques of the "adaptationist program" (Lewontin, 1978; Gould and Lewontin, 1979) stress that adaptation and selection are often invoked without strong supporting evidence. We suggest quantitative measurements of selection as the best alternative to the fabrication of adaptive scenarios. Our optimism that measurement can replace rhetorical claims for adaptation and selection is founded in the growing success of field workers in their efforts to measure major components of fitness in natural populations (e.g., Thornhill, 1976; Howard, 1979; Downhower and Brown, 1980; Boag and Grant, 1981; Clutton-Brock et

4,990 citations


"Studying the evolutionary ecology o..." refers background or methods in this paper

  • ...Not only does correlational selection represent a form of non-linear selection, in general selection rarely acts on traits in isolation (Lande & Arnold, 1983; Phillips & Arnold, 1989; Roff, 1992; Schluter & Nychka, 1994) and therefore correlational selection is likely to be a major if not the main…...

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  • ...Multivariate selection analysis can be achieved simply by regressing relative fitness on multiple (n) standardised phenotypes in the same model, the resulting parameters from which represent partial ‘selection gradients’ for each trait (Lande & Arnold, 1983)....

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  • ...The development of a simple statistical framework for estimating selection on quantitative traits (Lande & Arnold, 1983; Phillips & Arnold, 1989) was instrumental in evolutionary ecology....

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  • ...The formal Lande & Arnold (1983) way to present non-linear selection results is in a matrix (called γ ) of the standardised quadratic and correlational coefficients (from one multiple regression with relative fitness against standardised traits, their squared terms, and their interactions) with the…...

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  • ...A major challenge in evolutionary biology generally is to account for these other correlated traits (Lande & Arnold, 1983; Phillips & Arnold, 1989); this is perhaps readily appreciated in the context of cognitive and personality traits, which by definition should be linked to multiple behavioural…...

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