Dataset Information

Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles.

ABSTRACT: Individual animals vary in their behaviour and reactions to novel situations. These differences may extend to differences in cognition among individuals. We tested twenty-six horses for their ability to detour around symmetric and asymmetric obstacles. All of the animals were able to get around the barrier to reach a food target, but varied in their approach. Some horses moved slowly but were more accurate in choosing the shortest way. Other horses acted quickly, consistently detoured in the same direction, and did not reliably choose the shortest way. The remaining horses shifted from a faster, directionally consistent response with the symmetric barrier, to a slower but more accurate response with the asymmetric barrier. The asymmetric barrier induced a reduction in heart rate variability, suggesting that this is a more demanding task. The different approaches used to solve the asymmetric task may reflect distinct cognitive styles in horses, which vary among individuals, and could be linked to different personality traits. Understanding equine behaviour and cognition can inform horse welfare and management.

SUBMITTER: Baragli P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5707407 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles.

Baragli Paolo P Vitale Valentina V Sighieri Claudio C Lanata Antonio A Palagi Elisabetta E Reddon Adam R AR

Scientific reports 20171129 1

Individual animals vary in their behaviour and reactions to novel situations. These differences may extend to differences in cognition among individuals. We tested twenty-six horses for their ability to detour around symmetric and asymmetric obstacles. All of the animals were able to get around the barrier to reach a food target, but varied in their approach. Some horses moved slowly but were more accurate in choosing the shortest way. Other horses acted quickly, consistently detoured in the sam ...[more]

PMID: 29185468

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Project description:In the wild, primates are selective over the routes that they take when foraging and seek out preferred or ephemeral food. Given this, we tested how a group of captive chimpanzees weighed the relative benefits and costs of foraging for food in their environment when a less-preferred food could be obtained with less effort than a more-preferred food. In this study, a social group of six zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) could collect PVC tokens and exchange them with researchers for food rewards at one of two locations. Food preference tests had revealed that, for these chimpanzees, grapes were a highly-preferred food while carrot pieces were a less-preferred food. The chimpanzees were tested in three phases, each comprised of 30 thirty-minute sessions. In phases 1 and 3, if the chimpanzees exchanged a token at the location they collected them they received a carrot piece (no travel) or they could travel ?10 m to exchange tokens for grapes at a second location. In phase 2, the chimpanzees had to travel for both rewards (?10 m for carrot pieces, ?15 m for grapes). The chimpanzees learned how to exchange tokens for food rewards, but there was individual variation in the time it took for them to make their first exchange and to discover the different exchange locations. Once all the chimpanzees were proficient at exchanging tokens, they exchanged more tokens for grapes (phase 3). However, when travel was required for both rewards (phase 2), the chimpanzees were less likely to work for either reward. Aside from the alpha male, all chimpanzees exchanged tokens for both reward types, demonstrating their ability to explore the available options. Contrary to our predictions, low-ranked individuals made more exchanges than high-ranked individuals, most likely because, in this protocol, chimpanzees could not monopolize the tokens or access to exchange locations. Although the chimpanzees showed a preference for exchanging tokens for their more-preferred food, they appeared to develop strategies to reduce the cost associated with obtaining the grapes, including scrounging rewards and tokens from group mates and carrying more than one token when travelling to the farther exchange location. By testing the chimpanzees in their social group we were able to tease apart the social and individual influences on their decision making and the interplay with the physical demands of the task, which revealed that the chimpanzees were willing to travel farther for better.

Dataset Information

Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles.

Publications

Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles.

Similar Datasets

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