Learning capabilities enhanced in harsh environments: a common garden approach.
Learning capabilities enhanced in harsh environments: a common garden approach.
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在恶劣环境中增强学习能力：常见的花园方法。
DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2010.0630
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发表时间：
2010
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Pravosudov,VladimirV
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Roth,TimothyC;LaDage,LaraD;Pravosudov,VladimirV
以前的研究表明，在恶劣环境中生存的能力可能与高级学习特征有关。然而，目前尚不清楚个体是否表现出这些特征是因为经历了具有挑战性的环境，还是这些特征是遗传的。为了评估差异选择压力对认知方面变化的影响，我们使用了一个共同的花园的方法来研究两个种群的黑顶山雀（Poecile atricapillus）的新奇和解决问题的能力。这些种群起源于该物种分布范围的纬度极端，我们先前在多种群研究中证明了记忆和大脑形态的显着差异。我们发现，鸟类从苛刻的北方人口，其中选择认知能力预计将是高的，显着优于同种从温和的南部人口。我们的研究结果意味着认知能力的差异可能是遗传的，因为两个群体的个体都是在10天大的环境条件下长大的。虽然我们的数据表明，独立的经验的影响，我们不能排除母亲的影响或经验的巢前10天与我们的设计。尽管如此，我们的研究结果支持了这样一种观点，即环境的严重程度可能是塑造认知某些方面的重要因素。
Previous studies have suggested that the ability to inhabit harsh environments may be linked to advanced learning traits. However, it is not clear if individuals express such traits as a consequence of experiencing challenging environments or if these traits are inherited. To assess the influence of differential selection pressures on variation in aspects of cognition, we used a common garden approach to examine the response to novelty and problem-solving abilities of two populations of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). These populations originated from the latitudinal extremes of the species's range, where we had previously demonstrated significant differences in memory and brain morphology in a multi-population study. We found that birds from the harsh northern population, where selection for cognitive abilities is expected to be high, significantly outperformed conspecifics from the mild southern population. Our results imply differences in cognitive abilities that may be inherited, as individuals from both populations were raised in and had experienced identical environmental conditions from 10 days of age. Although our data suggest an effect independent of experience, we cannot rule out maternal effects or experiences within the nest prior to day 10 with our design. Nevertheless, our results support the idea that environmental severity may be an important factor in shaping certain aspects of cognition.