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Define cognition
mental processes for what animals think and how they think it
Define anthropomorphism
crediting animals with human characteristics
Define anthropocentrism
having recognized that animals are not people, still seeing them from our human perspective
Explain Morgan Canon
don’t assume complex mental abilities if simpler explanations suffice, ended up being a overcorrection
What is the modern approach to animal cognition
animals have unique capabilities adapted for their lifestyle. Cognition has been theorized in mammals, birds, and octopi
What are the 4 cognitive domains?
self and metacognition, prospection/future thinking, executive function, and social cognition
What is another way to measure cognition outside of behavior? Give an example
Brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging, has shown numerical reasoning in corvids involves a similar brain region as humans
What are the 3 attributes of language
Assign meanings to sounds, gestures, or symbols not directly related to the object or action
Create novel combinations of symbols for communication
Grammatical rules
Explain how Campbell’s monkey and Vervet monkey communication is different
Campbells monkeys use six call types with no symbolic association while vervet monkeys use different symbolic calls for different predators
What are the 2 caveats when animals use human language?
They don’t use those symbols with other animals and it may rely on a special relationship with the handler
Describe Chomsky’s concept of universal grammar
The idea that the grammatical structure of human language is based on something inherent in the human brain that drives similarity across languages
Define concept of self
recognition of self as separate from others and the environment including the ability to judge one’s actions
Explain the mirror test and what it’s trying to prove
Change the appearance of an animal to see if they react in a mirror to assess the ability to separate self from others
What is gaze following and which animals display it?
The ability to follow where another animal is looking, primates and dogs
Explain prospection and future planning
Involves mental time travel, anticipating outcomes and planning actions based on experience
Which 2 types of thinking are not involved in cognition? Which one is?
semantic and procedural memory, episodic memory
Explain semantic memory
Concepts and facts including language and words. Not associated with cognition as no mental time travel occurs
Explain procedural memory
how to do something, a series of steps in a task. Not involved in cognition
Explain episodic memory
recalling specific events from the past, including what, when, and where, allows reflection and forecasting, the basis of cognition and mental time travel
What are three ways to test episodic memory?
time-place learning, caching and pilfering, and cognitive maps
Explain time-place learning
Ability to remember location and timing of a resource, integrating internal clock and spatial memory
How do Western Scrub Jays react differently in caching based on their experience? What cognitive domains does this show?
Jays that have pilfered show greater alertness and recaching. Concept of self, future planning, and social cognition
Define cognitive maps
mental representation of spatial relationships in the environment, ability to calculate optimal routes between locations
How does the veined octopus show future planning?
Uses coconut shells for defense and egg laying and carries them for future use
reasons octopi are cognitive
they are active predators, move quickly, have big brains, and may engage in planning
Ultimate causes of animal cognition
Living in dynamic social groups, foraging challenges and food unpredictability, and predatory lifestyle
Explain executive function
higher-order cognitive processes such as self-control, problem solving, and planning
What part of the brain is associated with executive function?
The prefrontal cortex
Define self-control and give 2 examples of ways to test for it
Ability to control impulses, delayed gratification and inhibitory control tasks
Define problem solving
Bringing together different pieces of information from experience to anticipate a solution to a problem
Explain the 2 levels of problem solving
Basic level is trial and error learning and simple tool use. The higher levels include insight, innovation, complex tool use, and multi-step reasoning
Explain the Aesop’s fable paradigm
Rooks using stones to raise the water level in a tube and reach a caterpillar
Define insight
The sudden realization of a solution marked by a noticeable shift in neural activity
Define innovation
the process that generates novel behavior or uses preexisting behavior in a new situation
How are orangutans distinct from other highly cognitive animals?
They aren’t predators. They developed cognition due to unpredictable food availability and travel routes through trees
Define intelligence
wide-ranging problem solving abilities
Social insects have problem-solving abilities. Why aren’t they considered cognizant?
Their problem-solving and social dynamics are shaped by evolution rather than culture
Define counting
Determining whether one quantity is more or less than another
What is the natural state of counting in humans?
logarithmic
How might fish use counting?
Mosquitofish join the larger school for protection
Define Categorization
the mental process of grouping objects based on shared features
Define probabilistic decision making
Using probability to make decisions. Related to numerical abilities.
Define social cognition
adaptations to deal with the behavioral and psychological traits of others including theory of mind and empathy
Ultimate cause of social cognition
hypothesized that the adaptive challenges of social life
are so complex that they were a driving force in evolution of sophisticated intelligence
Define theory of mind
ability to form hypotheses about thoughts of surrounding animals
Define empathy and what animals it is diplayed in
responding to another’s distress or sorrow commonly with facial mimicry, primates, elephants, dolphins, dogs, and rodents
Define vengeance and what animals it is displayed in
retaliating against individuals that have caused harm. Chimps, macaques, corvids, and elephants
Define communication
transmission of information from one animal to another, requiring coevolution between the sending animal and the receiving animal
What are 3 uses for communication?
finding a mate, signaling parents or offspring, and signaling group members
When would you expect honest communication?
When the sender and receiver have shared interests
Define signal
animal product evolved to carry specific meaning to others including color, action, chemical compounds, or electrical discharge
What is the main communication difference between a structural and behavioral signal?
Structural signals communicate continuously while behavioral signals are produced at certain times
What elements are required of the sender and receiver, respectively, for communication to work?
The sender needs a structure that is or makes the signal and the receiver needs a receptor to transduce the signal
Define autocommunication and give an example
communication with self, bats echolocating
Define co-option in communication
evolutionary adoption of something for new communication
Define ritualization in communication
evolutionary refinement of signal to be more efficient and accurate
Define stereotypy in communication
evolutionary reduction in variation of the signal to minimize uncertainty of meaning
Define redundancy in communication
use of multiple signals with same meaning
What are the main features of audible signaling?
Works in the dark, unimpeded by obstacles, doesn’t linger in environment, energy intensive production
Why is producing louder sounds so costly?
Every 10 decibels is a 10 fold increase in energy but only perceived as twice the loudness
Define dissipation in communication
the loss of intensity as sound travels
If an animal wished to communicate a long-distance audible signal, what type of sound would they use?
infrasound
tymbals are used by insects in sound production. Explain what a tymbal is
A vibrating drum-like membrane moved by muscles
stridulatory organs are used by insects in sound production. Explain how it works
They drag a scraper along a file
What are the 4 sound production mechanisms?
tymbal, stridulatory organ, larynx/syrinx, and hitting substrate
Explain resonant structures in communication
internal or external hollow structures meant to amplify sound
Give an example of an internal resonance structure in an animal
hyoid bone in howler monkeys
Aside from resonant structures, frogs and howler monkeys also have vocal sacs. What is the purpose of vocal sacs?
Holds air to allow for longer duration sound
What is the main difference, aside from function, between alarm calls and mating calls?
Alarm calls are stereotyped with little variability while mating calls change and spread via cultural transmission
What are the features of infrasound
Travels well through the ground and water, receivers need to be large
What are the features of ultrasound
low energy cost, dissipates rapidly, reflects, needs small receivers with thin membranes
What are the two uses for ultrasound and which animals utilize them?
bats, rate, and moths use it to find mates, bats use it to hunt
Why might frogs sing in chorus?
Females prefer the male that sings first, but there needs to be a distinct break between calls
Why might crickets sing in chorus?
Males save energy by hanging around other males who are already trilling
How do animals cope with noise?
Limiting the frequency range they can hear, signaling at certain times of day, and neural processes that filter signals
What are the features of chemoreception?
Work in the dark, unimpeded by obstacles, and can linger or travel long distances
Define pheromone
a chemical signal within species shaped by evolution
In pheromones, what are the chemical properties of airborne signals?
small less polar molecules
In pheromones, what are the chemical and physical properties of persistent signals?
large polar molecules that persist and stick to surfaces
In pheromone signaling, why are mating signals a mixture of pheremones?
To avoid interference from similar species
How do dogs and cats scent-marking strategies differ?
dogs distribute their scent around their territory while cats concentrate their scent at the center of their territory
What are the features of tactile signals?
efficient when animals are close, do not require air currents or light
Snakes lack ears. How do they sense vibrations?
directly through their skull
Spiders lack ears, but still use web vibration to communicate. What do they communicate via vibration?
To find a potential mate and alert them to prey
Features of visual signals
Work well in absence of objects, require light, fast, inexpensive, don’t linger
What are the issues with visual signals in water
Absorption of light, less red/orange/yellow wavelengths, and refraction
What are the three main types of visual signals
patterns/colors, movement, and light production
Define pigment coloration, what colors can it produce?
Chemical compounds that absorb and reflect light, regardless of angle. White, yellow, red, orange, brown, and black
Define structural coloration, what colors can it produce?
Physical microstructures that scatter light, often depends on angle. Blue, green, metallics, and iridescence
Is fluorescence a pigment or a structural color?
both
What are the two strategies to deal with visual noise?
Signal divergence helps to stand out from background and camouflage uses visual noise to blend in
Features of electrical signal communication
Work well in murky water, used for communication, detecting prey, and navigation
There are two forms of electric use in fish, strongly electric and weakly electric fish. They use their electricity differently, explain how.
Strongly electric fish use electricity mostly for predation and defense while weakly electric fish use mostly for communication and electrolocation
Explain runaway sexual selection
If one sex prefers mates to have a strong signal, selection will favor making that signal bigger beyond what is actually necessary
Explain supernormal stimulus
Animals are attracted to stimulus that are greater in magnitude than normal stimulus
What are the two main instances of dishonest signals within a species
young exaggerate their actual needs and in mating sneaking males lurk near signaling males to get mates without producing costly signals
Explain the handicap principle
A signal is honest if it is costly to produce
Explain two examples of deceitful signals between species
mimicry and falsely signaling injury or alarm
How does communication evolve in the sender
to give messages that benefit the sender but minimize cost or effort for communication
How does communication evolve in the receiver
to enhance the information obtained from a signal and discriminate honest from deceitful signals