Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Schiffner I
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3855779 | biostudies-literature | 2013
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Cognitive abilities such as learning and memory are key for survival and reproduction. Individuals with high cognitive abilities may be more successful at attracting mates and producing offspring. However, empirical tests of and evidence supporting this hypothesis remain scarce. We measured cognitive performance of male budgerigars in four tasks: problem solving, detour reaching, seed discrimination, and spatial memory. We then tested female choice for male cognition at three stages of the mating choice process: social pairing, extra-pair mating, and continued reproductive investment with a social mate. We also measured female reproductive output. We used an integrative measure of male cognitive performance that encapsulates performance across all tasks, the 'composite cognitive score' by summing performance on the four tasks. In the first stage, females did not choose their social mates based on any of the measures of male cognitive performance. In the second stage, however, males with higher composite cognitive scores sired and raised more offspring. In the third stage, females increased their reproductive investment after the first breeding attempt when paired with males with higher detour-reaching scores. These results suggest that female reproductive decisions may shape overall male cognitive performance.
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Project description:The origin of rhythmic synchronization or entrainment to a musical beat in animals has been widely discussed. Parrots are suitable animals to examine the relationship between the capability of vocal learning and spontaneous rhythmic synchronization. In this study, budgerigars Melopsittacus undulatus learned to tap (peck) 2 keys alternately at a self-paced rate. Then, the metronomic sounds were played in the background during test sessions while the birds were performing the key pecking task, although they were not required to synchronize tap timing with the metronome. We found modest but significant effects of the metronome rhythms on the tap timing in some subjects. We also tested humans Homo sapiens using almost the same method. In contrast to the birds, a number of human subjects synchronized tap timing to the onset of the metronome without verbal or documented instructions. However, we failed to find an effect of the metronome on self-paced tap timing in some human subjects, although they were capable of rhythmic synchronization. This is the first report describing the effects of metronomic sounds on self-paced tapping in nonhuman vocal learners. This study introduces a new method that can be used in future research comparing birds that differ in vocal learning capacities, social structure, age, sex, hormonal status, and so on as part of examinations of the evolutionary foundations of beat processing.
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Project description:Behavioural lateralization is widespread. Yet, a fundamental question remains, how can lateralization be evolutionary stable when individuals lateralized in one direction often significantly outnumber individuals lateralized in the opposite direction? A recently developed game theory model predicts that fitness consequences which occur during intraspecific interactions may be driving population-level lateralization as an evolutionary stable strategy. This model predicts that: (i) minority-type individuals exist because they are more likely to adopt unpredictable fighting behaviours during competitive interactions (e.g. fighting); and (ii) majority-type individuals exist because there is a fitness advantage in having their biases synchronized with other conspecifics during interactions that require coordination (e.g. mating). We tested these predictions by investigating biases in giant Australian cuttlefish during fighting and mating interactions. During fighting, most male cuttlefish favoured the left eye and these males showed higher contest escalation; but minority-type individuals with a right-eye bias achieved higher fighting success. During mating interactions, most male cuttlefish favoured the left eye to inspect females. Furthermore, most male cuttlefish approached the female's right side during a mating attempt and these males achieved higher mating success. Our data support the hypothesis that population-level biases are an evolutionary consequence of the fitness advantages involved in intraspecific interactions.
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