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，但认知差异如何演变仍然知之甚少。在过去的十年中，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，这强烈表明，通过女性配偶选择的性选择可以推动增强男性认知的进化。尽管如此，间性选择在多大程度上有助于维持男性认知的多样性一直是争论的焦点。例如，我们目前缺乏直接的证据表明，女性一致地根据可靠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环境，以及认知能力。拟议的研究计划将联合收割机理论工作与实验研究相结合，并将有助于理解和预测的相对重要性的自然和性选择认知多样性的概念框架的发展，其后果信号进化。它分为三个轴，旨在i）确定哪些认知特征是不同生态环境下的性选择的目标，ii）确定女性是否以及如何评估男性的认知能力，iii）了解第二性征和认知能力之间的关联模式。由于认知能力影响个体在新的或改造的栖息地中生存的能力，因此确定哪些因素可能改善或降低认知能力至关重要。这项研究计划将为保护生物学家和进化心理学家提供重要的研究成果。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得出可检验的预测。

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.