Causes and consequences of individual variation in cognition in natural populations

自然群体认知个体差异的原因和后果

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-06558
• 负责人: MorandFerron, Julie
• 金额: $ 3.39万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=689404
• 关键词: Causes; consequences; individual; variation; cognition

Cognition, a suite of neural processes including learning, memory and decision-making, determines how individuals interact with their environment, and therefore affects a range of ecological and evolutionary processes. Traditionally, cognition has been studied by psychologists and neurobiologists interested in proximal questions; therefore we still know very little on the evolution of cognition. The long-term objective of my research program is to understand how cognition is shaped by the selective environment. I approach this aim by testing evolutionary hypotheses on the causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities, so as to uncover the links between the environment, behaviour, cognition, and fitness. In the next five years, my students and I will quantify intraspecific variation in cognition in three different research systems which provide unique and complementary opportunities. In Obj.1, we will examine the impact of urbanization on the relative preference for social vs personal information in a wild population of black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus. These small passerine birds form cohesive groups during the non-breeding season, which we study using radio-frequency identification technology allowing automated recording of individuals at feeders. These visitation patterns are used to assess social networks, group cohesiveness and social information flow. We will test the prediction that birds living in more urbanized habitats are less reliant on social information, and are therefore less likely to form and maintain cultural traditions in the wild, compared with birds living in less perturbed habitats. In Obj.2, we will use a habitat comparison and common garden experiment to test for local adaptation of spatial cognition in locally-caught fall field crickets, Gryllus pennsylvanicus. We will also test the prediction that spatial cognitive performance aligns with other cognitive traits, and with anti-predator behaviour and life-history traits as part of a pace-of-life syndrome. Obj.3 will build on an ongoing breeding monitoring program in a wild population of great tits, Parus major. We will test the prediction that spatio-temporal associative learning is a key cognitive ability determining parental provisioning of offspring, and thus reproductive success. By examining a functional behaviour expected to mediate the influence of cognition on reproduction, this research will inform a missing link in cognition-fitness studies. This work will provide important advances towards my long-term research goal, i.e. to understand the evolution of cognition in wild populations, and will contribute new knowledge on the effect of anthropogenic perturbations and natural ecological gradients on behaviour and cognition. Our findings will thus have borad and profound impact on research in ecology and evolution, animal cognition, and on the general public.

认知是包括学习、记忆和决策在内的一系列神经过程，它决定了个体如何与环境相互作用，从而影响一系列生态和进化过程。传统上，认知是由对近邻问题感兴趣的心理学家和神经生物学家来研究的，因此我们对认知的进化仍然知之甚少。我的研究计划的长期目标是了解选择性环境是如何塑造认知的。为了达到这一目标，我测试了关于个体认知能力差异的原因和后果的进化假说，以揭示环境、行为、认知和健康之间的联系。在接下来的五年里，我和我的学生将在三个不同的研究系统中量化认知的种内差异，这三个研究系统提供了独特和互补的机会。在目标1中，我们将研究城市化对黑帽山雀野生种群中社会信息相对于个人信息的相对偏好的影响。这些小型雀形目鸟类在非繁殖季节形成了有凝聚力的群体，我们使用射频识别技术进行研究，允许自动记录喂食者的个体。这些访问模式被用来评估社交网络、群体凝聚力和社交信息流。我们将验证这样的预测，即生活在城市化程度较高的栖息地的鸟类对社会信息的依赖程度较低，因此与生活在较不受干扰的栖息地的鸟类相比，在野外形成和保持文化传统的可能性较小。在目标2中，我们将使用栖息地比较和普通花园实验来测试本地捕获的秋地蟋蟀(Gryllus Pennsylvanicus)对空间认知的局部适应。我们还将测试空间认知能力与其他认知特征、反捕食者行为和生活史特征作为生活节奏综合症的一部分的预测。Obj.3将建立在大山雀野生种群中正在进行的繁殖监测计划的基础上。我们将检验时空联想学习是决定父母供养后代从而决定生殖成功的关键认知能力这一预测。通过考察一种功能行为，这项研究预计会调节认知对生殖的影响，这项研究将揭示认知健康研究中缺失的一环。这项工作将为我的长期研究目标，即了解野生种群中认知的演变提供重要进展，并将为人为扰动和自然生态梯度对行为和认知的影响贡献新的知识。因此，我们的发现将对生态学和进化论、动物认知和普通公众的研究产生深远的影响。