Evolution Of Complex Behaviour And Cognition

Question 1

Tool use examples

Answer 1

New Caledonian crow bales to modify tool to fit hole through hole to access food

New Caledonian crow spontaneously bent metal wire into a hook to lift food from within a pipe (weir et al. 2002)

Rooks (non-habitual tool users) learnt to drop stones in a jar of water to get food - able to choose best rocks to increase water height

Question 2

Corvid food hoarding cognition example

Answer 2

Scrub jays recache food when others originally witnessed them - more likely when an unknown individual sees than partner - able to attribute knowledge to other individuals

Episodic like memory: cache mealworms and peanuts. Return to mealworms after 4 hours and peanut positions after 124 hours

Future planning: prefer a mixture of foods for breakfast, cache peanuts when given kibbles and kibbles when given peanuts

May represent q case of convergent mental evolution with apes - similar cognitive processes but divergent brains (emery et al 2005)

Question 3

Brain size and cognition examples

Answer 3

Brain size and IQ in Scottish men and separate study

Hominid brains have increased in size

Question 4

N = 1 approach example

Answer 4

Numerical skills shown in African grey parrot - showed numerical ability in a novel situation, for numbers greater than 4 with distractors present. >80% accuracy