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Animal Minds > Tool Use > Flashcards

Tool Use Flashcards

1
Q

When was the earliest definitive evidence of hominin tools

A

2.62.5 million years ago

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2
Q

Why is earlier evidence of hominin tool use less difinitive?

A

nonstone tools do not get preserved in the archaeological record

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3
Q

What are hominins?

A

the human lineage since the split from the other great apes 6-8 million years ago (i.e. hominin = Homo sapiens + our ancestors + all extinct human species)

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4
Q

Why is evidence from more than 3.3 mil years ago of hominin tool use missing?

A

nonstone tools do not get preserved in the archaeological record

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5
Q

How do Chimpanzees at Gombe, Tanzania use sticks

A

to “fish” for termites

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6
Q

What is jane goodall’s explanation for tool use?

A

the use of an external object as a functional extension of mouth or beak, hand or claw, in the attainment of an immediate goal

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7
Q

What is John Alockl’s explanation for tool use?

A

the manipulation of an inanimate object, not internally manufactured, with the effect of improving the animal’s efficiency in altering the form or position of some separate object

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8
Q

What is R. Schumakerl’s explanation for tool use?

A

(after Benjamin Beck) define tool use as “the external employment of an unattached or manipulable attached environmental object to alter more efficiently the form, position, or condition of another object, another organism, or the user itself when the user holds and directly manipulates the tool during or prior to use

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9
Q

What are 11 examples of tool use?

A
  • Sea urchins wear shells and pebbles for camouflage/defense
  • Blanket octopuses carry jellyfish tentacles as defensive weapons
  • Marine crabs wave stinging sea-anemones in their pincers for defence
  • Digger wasps use pebbles to hammer down dirt outside burrow
  • Crocodiles use sticks as lures to catch avian prey
  • South American cichlid fish use leaves as tablets for carrying eggs
  • Archer fish spit jets of water to knock prey off perch
  • Egyptian vultures drop stones onto ostrich eggs to break them
  • Galapagos woodpecker finches use cactus spines to e`xtract insects
  • Bottlenose dolphins carry sponges as foraging aids
  • Elephants use branches held in their trunks as fly swats`
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10
Q

What are the taxodermic levels

A

phyla -> classes -> orders -> families -> genera -> species

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11
Q

What are the 4 phyla in which tool use is seen

A

Echinodermata, arthropads, mollusca, chordata

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12
Q

What are the ten classes which tool use is seen

A

sea urchens, insects, spiders, crabs, snails, octopi, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals

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13
Q

In what percentage of catalogued animals has tool use been seen?

A

0.2 percent

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14
Q

How many tools do most animals use?

A

1

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15
Q

What types of species have exceptions to the one tool rule

A

Primates and birds

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16
Q

What animal stands out in terms of their variety of tool use?

A

Wild Chimps

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17
Q

What do wild chimps use tools for

A

Use tools for foraging, self-maintenance, and the social/communicative domains

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18
Q

What are the 14 chimp tool uses

A

Algae scoop
Aimed throw
Ant dip
Branch drag
Dig w/ stick
Fly whisk
Leaf clip
Leaf sponge
Leaf cushion
Leaf wipe
Nasal probe
Nut crack
Pestle pound
Prey spear
Stir probe
Termite fish

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19
Q

Describe the variety of tool use across chimp species

A

Vary greatly

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20
Q

What three things need to be considered for animals to use tools

A

Ability
Opportunity
Benefits

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21
Q

What type of ability is important in animal tool use

A

Cognitive/physical

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22
Q

What opportunities are important in animal tool use

A

Suitable materials and conditions

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23
Q

What is considered in terms of benefits for animal tool use

A

Energetic returns vs costs

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24
Q

Describe tool usage of Capuchin monkeys

A

Versatile skill users in captivity, but only recently started using tools in the wild

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25
What are the four mutually exclusive hypotheses for why some species of capuchin monkeys use tools and others do not?
Necessity Opportunity Limited invention Relative profitability
26
Describe the necessity hypothesis for capuchin monkey tool use
Tool use is a response to resource scarcity
27
Describe the opportunity hypothesis for capuchin monkey tool use
Repeated exposure to the right conditions prompts tool use
28
Describe the limited invention hypothesis for capuchin monkey tool use
Tool use is rarely invented and spread requires sufficient social proximity to learn from others
29
Describe the relative profitability hypothesis for capuchin monkey tool use
Tool use is expressed whenever it is relatively more profitable than non-tool-assisted foraging
30
In what season do woodpecker finches use tools the most and what hypothesis supports this
Dry season - necessity
31
In what season do west african chimps use tools the most and what hypothesis supports this
Winter - Necessity (less fruiting trees)
32
In what season central african chimps use tools the most and what hypothesis supports this
Wet season - opportunity
33
What animal has an interesting case of tool use
New Caledonian Crow
34
Where did New Caledonian Crows come from and where did they land
Came from South East Asia or Austrailia Landed in new Caledonia
35
What situation did the New Caledonian Crows find themselves in
Lots of profitable but out of reach food that no other animal was exploiting
36
How did the New Caledonian Crows handle the situation
Filled the vacant woodpecker0like niche by adopting tool use
37
What two factors helped NC Crows to use tools
Pre-disposition to tool use due to their cognition/anatomy Lack of predators
38
How did lack of predators help NC Crows use tools
Allowed them to invest time into freely exploring, manipulating, and learning to use objects
39
What is tool manufacture? Which animal uses it and how?
Structural modification of an object or existing tool so that the object serves, or serves more effectively, as a tool New Caledonian Crow - crafted hook
40
What is tool set? Which animal uses it and how?
Two+ tools used sequentially to achieve a single outcome Chimp- Using puncturing tool then termite fishing tool
41
What are sequential tools? Which animal uses it and how?
Tool used to acquire another tool New Caledonian Crow - Using tool to get another tool
42
What are composite tools? Which animal uses it and how?
2+ tools used simultaneously to achieve a single outcome Chimp - Using stone hammer and anvil to crack nuts
43
What is metatool? Which animal uses it and how?
A tool used simultaneously with a second tool to increase efficiency of the second tool Chimp - using a wedge stone to stabilize an anvill
44
What is multifunction tool? Which animal uses it and how?
A single tool used for two different functions Chimps - Use stick tools in which different ends of the same stick are used to puncture/mash bee hives, and the other end is to dip for honey from the hive
45
What does tool use show?
A high degree of manipulative skill
46
What are the two possibilities of why animals use tools in terms of cognitive sophistication
Rigidly channelled by genes Flexible problem solving
47
What do lab experiments on tool use show
Animals use of folk physics in the context of tool use
48
What are the four options for the rake task?
- one rake correctly positioned/other one incorrectly positioned - no trap/trap - tines up (functional)/tines down (unfunctional) - Intact (functional)/broken (unfunctional)
49
What is the first part of the rigid vs flimsy rake task
One rake has rigid material at the end (functional) and the other has flimsy material (unfunctional)
50
What were the results of the first part of the rigid vs flimsy rake task
All but one chimp failed to reliably select the rigid tool (2000) Most chimps select the rigid tool significantly more often than the flimsy tool (2008)
51
What is the second part of the rigid vs flimsy rake task
Hybrid tool in an unfunctional orientation and hybrid tool in a functional orientation
52
What were the results of the second part of the rigid vs flimsy rake task
Individual successful in 1 but fails in 2 (2000) Performance less accurate in 2, but the group still performs above chance (2008)
53
What is the trap tube task
Standard task where a stick is effective from one end only (there is a pit in the middle that the object can fall through) The control condition is when the stick can be used from either end Monkeys have to get object out of the tube
54
How did capuchin monkeys perform on trap tube task
3 fail, 1 pass
55
How did chimps perform on trap tube task
9 fail, 3 pass
56
How did woodpecker finches perform on trap tube task
5 fail, 1 pass
57
How did rooks perform on trap tube task AND why is this interesting
1 fail, 7 pass They are a naturally non-tool-using species
58
What two non tool using species also passed the trap tube task
Vervet monkeys Cotton-top tamarins
59
How did humans perform when given a control of the trap tube task?
Their choice of side was not random
60
What are the implications of humans not choosing a random side in the control for trap tube
Failure to conform to an expectation is not necessarily a failure of casual reasoning
61
What do new caledonian crows match their choice of tool length to
The depth at which the food is hidden
62
What else impacts what tool New Caledonian crows will use
The diameter of the hole that they must extract food from
63
Who studied whether tool users are better problem solvers than non tool users and when?
Teschke et al (2013)
64
Describe Teschke et al's experiment
Compaired two pairs of closely related species on a range of physical problem solving and general learning tasks Wood Pecker finches (TU) vs small tree finches (NTU) New Caledonian Crows (TU) vs Carrion Crows (NTU)
65
What was Teschke et al's prediction
TU species should outperform NTU species in phyical problem solving tasks but not general learning tasks
66
What were the results of Teshke et al's experiment?
Prediction holds for crows but not finches
67
What three aspects of an animal can be effected by tool use?
Local ecology Anatomy Brain's representation of the animal's body
68
Which animals has tool use effected the local ecology of
Long-tailed macaque monkeys in Thailand
69
How do Long-tailed macaque monkeys use tools
Use stones to crack open oysters and other shellfish
70
How has the Long-tailed macaque monkeys tool use effected local ecology
Reduced shellfish size and abundance on islands with larger monkey populations
71
Which two animals had altered anatomy due to tool use
Hermit crabs and new caledonian crows
72
Describe how tool use altered hermit crab anatomy
Evolved twisted bodies which are better fit to shells they use for protection
73
Describe how tool use altered New Caledonian Crow anatomy
Greater binocular overlap and straighter beaks than other crows for enhanced tool control
74
What is the question that arises when an animals anatomy is altered from tool use?
Is this a cause or effect relationship?
75
How does tool use affect the brain's representation of an animals body?
Visual receptive fields of neurons coding the schema of the hand are altered The field extends to include areas reachable with the tool (Tool use causes brain to perceive tools as extensions of the individual's body)
76

Animal Minds (17 decks)

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