Social cognitive evolution in captive foxes is a correlated by-product of experimental domestication
Social cognitive evolution in captive foxes is a correlated by-product of experimental domestication
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2005.01.040
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发表时间：
2005-02-08
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Trut, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hare, B;Plyusnina, I;Trut, L
狗有一种不寻常的能力，阅读人类的交流手势（例如，与非人类灵长类动物（包括黑猩猩）或狼相比[1-8]。虽然这种不寻常的交流能力似乎是在驯化过程中进化出来的[6，8]，但目前还不清楚这种进化是否是由于这种能力的直接选择而发生的，正如以前假设的那样[8]。或者作为一个相关的副产品选择对人类的恐惧和侵略[9]-这是一个与驯化有关的形态和生理变化的情况[11-18].我们在这里展示了来自实验种群的狐狸套件在45年内选择性繁殖，以无所畏惧、非攻击性地接近人类（即，实验驯化的）不仅在使用人类手势方面与小狗一样熟练，而且比来自第二个对照种群的狐狸套件更熟练，对照种群没有被饲养用于驯服行为（关键的是，狐狸的种群都没有被饲养或测试过使用人类手势的能力）[11，12]。这些结果表明，社会认知进化已经发生在实验狐狸，可能是家犬，作为一个相关的副产品的选择系统介导的恐惧和侵略，很可能观察到的社会认知进化并不需要直接选择改善社会认知能力。
Dogs have an unusual ability for reading human communicative gestures (e.g., pointing) in comparison to either nonhuman primates (including chimpanzees) or wolves [1-8]. Although this unusual communicative ability seems to have evolved during domestication [6, 8], it is unclear whether this evolution occurred as a result of direct selection for this ability, as previously hypothesized [8], or as a correlated by-product of selection against fear and aggression toward humans [9]-as is the case with a number of morphological and physiological changes associated with domestication [11-18]. We show here that fox kits from an experimental population selectively bred over 45 years to approach humans fearlessly and nonaggressively (i.e., experimentally domesticated) are not only as skillful as dog puppies in using human gestures but are also more skilled than fox kits from a second, control population not bred for tame behavior (critically, neither population of foxes was ever bred or tested for their ability to use human gestures) [11, 12]. These results suggest that sociocognitive evolution has occurred in the experimental foxes, and possibly domestic dogs, as a correlated by-product of selection on systems mediating fear and aggression, and it is likely the observed social cognitive evolution did not require direct selection for improved social cognitive ability.