Cognition and Natural Selection: Spatial and Social Cognition in Pinyon Jays

在自然界中，最快、最强壮、最大的动物会成功，因为它们的寿命更长、后代更多，而速度较慢、身体较弱、体型较小的动物往往不太成功。解剖学和生理学特征是动物用来提高生存和繁殖能力的武器的一部分。在这里，我们认为认知能力也可能是这一武器库的一部分。在这项研究中，我们计划测量喙的长度和羽毛的对称性等特征，但更重要的是，我们将测量年轻松鸦的空间记忆和社会认知。这些是合适的测试，因为这些鸟生活在高度结构化的永久群居中，每年使用空间记忆来储存和回收数千种隐藏的食物。每年将有大约60只幼鸟被带到实验室进行测试。每只都将获得两个智商分数，然后被放回原生栖息地，随后确定它的寿命和一生中产生的后代数量。我们计划跟踪700多只鸟的一生。人们越来越意识到，高等动物不仅仅是本能的机器人生物，也不是简单学习程序的奴隶。一些动物似乎会在一种情况下了解它们的环境和同伴，然后在新的情况下应用这种学习。松鸦是一种特殊的鸟类，因为它们生活在一个和谐的社会单元中，也是空间记忆专家。到目前为止，动物使用认知能力来实现相对较高水平的生物学成功的想法从未在野生动物种群中进行过测试。我们对松鸦的知识和经验将使我们有一个独特的机会在野外探索这些令人兴奋的问题。

In nature, the swiftest, strongest, largest animals succeed as evidenced by longer life and more offspring, whereas the slower, weaker, smaller ones often are less successful. Anatomical and physiological traits are part of the arsenal that animals employ to enhance survival and reproduction. Here, we suggest that cognitive abilities may also be part of that arsenal. In this study we plan to measure traits such as bill length and symmetry of feathers, but more importantly, we will measure spatial memory and social cognition in young Pinyon Jays. These are appropriate tests because these birds live in highly structured, permanent social flocks, and store and recover thousands of hidden food items each year using spatial memory to do so. About 60 young birds per year will be brought into the laboratory for testing. Each will achieve two IQ scores and then will be released back into the native habitat and followed to determine how long it lives and how many offspring it produces in its lifetime. We plan to follow over 700 birds through their lives. There is growing awareness that higher animals are more than instinctive robotic creatures or slaves to a program of simple learning. Some animals appear to learn about their environment and fellow associates under one set of circumstances and then apply this learning in novel situations. Pinyon jays are exceptional birds in that they live in a harmonious social unit and are also spatial memory experts. The idea that animals use cognitive abilities to achieve relatively high levels of biological success has never been tested in a wild population of animals to date. Our knowledge and experience with pinyon jays will allow us a unique opportunity to explore these exciting questions in the wild.