Some strains of Lymnaea are smarter than others: why and what are the consequences.

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Animals use cognition (defined here as learning and the subsequent formation of memory) on a daily basis. However, some strains remember much better than others. That is, some animals of the same species are 'smarter' than others. This may be very important in predicting how animals will respond to environmental changes. We have demonstrated that the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, is the first invertebrate species found with significant differences in memory formation amongst natural populations, providing an exciting opportunity and a new model system to study cognitive evolution. My research using neurobiological and behavioural techniques developed in my lab places me in a unique position to elucidate factors shaping cognitive variation in natural populations and elucidate the role cognition plays in responses to environmental change. The ability of animals to alter behaviour in response to their environment enables them to adapt to changes in predator threat (including new introduced species), food availability or food quality and remember conspecific interactions that may alter social status or mate preference, all of which will directly affect an animal's 'fitness'. Hence, it seems intuitive that an enhanced ability to remember past experience should always be selected for; however, the ability to remember may also carry energetic costs that could outweigh the benefits gained from remembering aspects of the environment. Our proposed studies will elucidate the factors that limit the evolution of cognition, currently an area of debate in psychology, neurobiology and behavioural science, and provide the first direct evidence of the role cognition plays in allowing a species to adapt to novel environments.