Sexual selection and the evolution of cognition

越来越多的证据表明，动物物种之间和物种内部的认知能力差异很大，但认知能力的差异是如何进化的，人们仍然知之甚少。在过去的十年里，一些研究报告了男性认知能力和交配成功之间的积极联系，这有力地表明，通过女性的配偶选择，性选择可以推动男性认知能力增强的进化。尽管如此，两性间选择在多大程度上有助于维持男性认知的多样性一直是许多争论的焦点。例如，我们目前缺乏直接证据表明，女性一致地根据可靠地反映男性认知能力的特征来选择配偶。因此，似乎性选择的方向和强度取决于生态和社会背景，以及认知能力。拟议的研究计划将理论工作与实验研究相结合，并将有助于建立一个概念框架，以理解和预测自然选择和性选择对认知多样性的相对重要性，以及它对信号进化的影响。它分为三个轴，旨在1)确定在不同的生态环境下哪些认知特征是性选择的目标，2)确定女性是否以及如何评估男性的认知能力，以及3)了解第二性特征与认知能力之间的关联模式。因为认知能力会影响个体在新的或改变的栖息地中生存的能力，所以确定什么可以提高或降低认知能力是至关重要的。拟议的研究计划将为保护生物学家和进化心理学家提供重要的结果。它还将有助于培训科学家，培养关键的方法技能，以设计实验并从理论数学和计算分析中产生可测试的预测。

There is accumulating evidence that cognitive abilities vary widely both among and within animal species but how differences in cognition evolve remains little understood. Over the last decade, several studies reported a positive link between male cognitive abilities and mating success, which strongly suggests that sexual selection, through female mate choice, could drive the evolution of enhanced male cognition. Notwithstanding, the extent in which intersexual selection contributes to the maintenance of diversity in male cognition has been the focus of much debate. For instance, we currently lack direct evidence that females unanimously base their mate choice on traits that reliably reflect male cognitive ability. Thus, it would appear that the direction and strength of sexual selection varies depending on the ecological and social contexts, as well as among cognitive abilities. The proposed research program will combine theoretical work with experimental studies and will contribute to the development of a conceptual framework for understanding and predicting the relative importance of natural and sexual selection on cognitive diversity, and its consequences on signal evolution. It is divided into three axes aimed at i) determining which cognitive traits are the targets of sexual selection under different ecological contexts, ii) establishing whether and how females assess male cognitive ability, and iii) understanding the patterns of association between secondary sexual traits and cognitive abilities. Because cognitive abilities affect the capacity of individuals to survive in novel or modified habitats, it is crucial to identify what may improve or reduce cognition. The proposed research program will then provide important results for conservation biologists and evolutionary psychologists. It will also contribute to the training of scientists that will develop critical methodological skills to design experiments and generate testable predictions from theoretical mathematical and computational analyses.