The evolution of corvid intelligence: development mechanisms and function of cognitive abilities in wild jackdaws

与它们“鸟脑”的名声相反，最近的研究表明，一些鸟类具有令人惊讶的智力。例如，乌鸦家族的成员鸦科动物的大脑大小与黑猩猩相似（相对于它们的身体大小），并且已知它们会制造和使用工具，在镜子中认出自己，互相欺骗并计划未来。然而，由于几乎所有的研究都是在人工饲养的情况下进行的，我们对自然界中有利于乌鸦智能进化的因素知之甚少。在自然环境中对鸦类进行研究对于我们更好地理解动物王国中智力的进化至关重要。我将建立第一个长期的，专门的实地研究corvid情报，使用寒鸦。寒鸦是一种高度社会化、好奇的鸦类动物，能够容忍人类的近距离存在，这使它们成为研究智力的理想动物。与其他鸦科动物相比，它们也有实际的优势，它们很容易被带到巢箱中，因此它们可以很容易地被监测，并安装彩色环以识别个体。我将建立多个巢箱殖民地，并在五年内通过实验和对个体行为的详细观察来研究寒鸦社会中的认知挑战和生活益处。灵长类智能进化背后的主要驱动力之一被认为是在复杂和动态的社会中应对社会生活挑战的需要。我将回放寒鸦叫声的录音，并检查它们的反应，以确定它们是否能像社会性灵长类动物一样识别多个个体，并跟踪它们之间的关系。通过跟踪个体一生的行为，我将能够确定在形成和维持社会关系方面投入大量资金的寒鸦是否会在争夺资源和养育后代的能力方面获得回报。生活在群体中可以提供重要的优势，因为个体可以从彼此那里获得有用的信息。像孩子一样，年轻的动物可以通过与长辈互动来获得重要的技能。一个特别重要的技能可能是识别捕食者的能力。我将调查是否听到成年人的报警电话录音，同时遇到一个新的捕食者模型将使年轻的寒鸦学会避免在未来的捕食者。我也会训练个别的寒鸦以不同的方式打开食物谜题，并检查它们群体中的其他个体是否获得了同样的技术，以及当寒鸦聚集在群体中时，这些技术是否在群体之间传播。这样，我就能够研究是否有些人比其他人更有可能学习，以及信息在群体中的传播是否受到群体中个人关系的影响，就像人类社会中发生的那样。动物智力的实验室研究经常发现，只有一小部分被测试的个体能够成功地完成任务。如果我们要理解智力的进化，我们需要证据证明更强的能力是有益的，父母的能力会遗传给他们的后代。我将向寒鸦展示一系列寻找食物的谜题，并检查个体在解决不同谜题的倾向上是否一致，以及他们的表现是否与他们寻找食物和成功抚养小鸡的自然能力有关。通过在巢之间交换蛋，我还可以调查个体的能力是否受到它们作为小鸡所面临的条件的影响，并检查父母的能力遗传的程度。

Contrary to their 'bird-brained' reputation, recent studies show that some bird species are capable of surprising feats of mental ability. Corvids, members of the crow family, for instance, have brains of a similar size to chimpanzees (relative to the size of their bodies) and are known to make and use tools, recognise themselves in mirrors, deceive one another and plan for the future. However, as almost all research has been conducted in captivity, we have little idea of the factors that favoured the evolution of corvid intelligence in nature. Studies of corvids in their natural environment are essential to allow us to better understand the evolution of intelligence in the animal kingdom. I will set up the first long-term, dedicated field study of corvid intelligence, using jackdaws. Jackdaws are highly sociable, inquisitive corvids that tolerate the close presence of humans, making them ideal for studies of intelligence. They also have the practical advantage over other corvid species that they will readily take to nest boxes, so they can be easily monitored and fitted with colour-rings to allow identification of individuals. I will set up multiple nest box colonies and use experiments and detailed observations of individual behaviour over five years to examine the cognitive challenges and benefits of life in jackdaw societies. One of the main driving forces behind the evolution of primate intelligence is thought to be the need to navigate the challenges of social life in complex and dynamic societies. I will play back recordings of jackdaw calls and examine their responses to determine whether they, like social primates, can recognise multiple individuals and keep track of the relationships between them. By following the behaviour of individuals throughout their lives, I will be able to determine whether jackdaws that invest heavily in forming and maintaining social relationships reap rewards in terms of their ability to compete for resources and rear offspring. Living in groups may provide important advantages because individuals can gain useful information from one another. Like children, young animals may acquire important skills by interacting with their elders. One particularly important skill may be the ability to recognise predators. I will investigate whether hearing recordings of adult alarm calls at the same time as coming across a model of a novel predator will make young jackdaws learn to avoid that predator in the future. I will also train individual jackdaws to open food puzzles in different ways and examine whether other individuals in their groups acquire the same technique and whether techniques spread between groups when jackdaws aggregate in flocks. I will then be able to investigate whether some individuals are more likely to learn than others, and whether the spread of information through groups is affected by the relationships of the individuals within them, as occurs in human societies. Laboratory studies of animal intelligence often find that only a small number of the individuals tested can successfully complete tasks. If we are to understand the evolution of intelligence, we need evidence that greater abilities are beneficial and parents' abilities are passed on to their offspring. I will present jackdaws with a series of food-finding puzzles and examine whether individuals are consistent in their tendency to solve the different puzzles and whether their performance relates to their natural ability to find food and successfully raise chicks. By swapping eggs between nests, I will also be able to investigate whether individuals' abilities are affected by the conditions they faced as chicks and examine the degree to which parental abilities are inherited.