Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids.
Rachael Miller, Megan L Lambert, Anna Frohnwieser, Katharina F Brecht, Thomas Bugnyar, Isabelle Crampton, Elias Garcia-Pelegrin, Kristy Gould, Alison L Greggor, Ei-Ichi Izawa, Debbie M Kelly, Zhongqiu Li, Yunchao Luo, Linh B Luong, Jorg J M Massen, Andreas Nieder, Stephan A Reber, Martina Schiestl, Akiko Seguchi, Parisa Sepehri, Jeffrey R Stevens, Alexander H Taylor, Lin Wang, London M Wolff, Yigui Zhang, Nicola S Clayton
Author Information
Rachael Miller: University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK. Electronic address: rmam3@cam.ac.uk.
Megan L Lambert: University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Messerli Research Institute, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
Anna Frohnwieser: University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
Katharina F Brecht: Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Institute for Neurobiology, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Thomas Bugnyar: University of Vienna, Department of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria; University of Vienna and University of Veterinary Medicine, Haidlhof Research Station, Bad Vöslau, Austria.
Isabelle Crampton: University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
Elias Garcia-Pelegrin: University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
Kristy Gould: Luther College, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, 700 College Drive, Decorah, IA 52101, USA.
Alison L Greggor: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Recovery Ecology, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Rd, Escondido, San Diego, CA 92101, USA.
Ei-Ichi Izawa: Keio University, Department of Psychology, 2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, 108-8345 Tokyo, Japan.
Debbie M Kelly: University of Manitoba, Department of Psychology, 190 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2 MB, Canada.
Zhongqiu Li: Nanjing University, Lab of Animal Behavior & Conservation, School of Life Sciences, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023 Nanjing, China.
Yunchao Luo: Nanjing University, Lab of Animal Behavior & Conservation, School of Life Sciences, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023 Nanjing, China.
Linh B Luong: Luther College, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, 700 College Drive, Decorah, IA 52101, USA.
Jorg J M Massen: Utrecht University, Animal Behaviour & Cognition, Institute of Environmental Biology, Padualaan 8, De Uithof, 3584 Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Andreas Nieder: Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Institute for Neurobiology, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Stephan A Reber: Lund University, Department of Cognitive Science, Helgonavagen 3, Lund 221 00, Sweden.
Martina Schiestl: Auckland University, School of Psychology, 23 Symonds Street, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand; Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
Akiko Seguchi: Keio University, Department of Psychology, 2-15-45, Mita, Minato-ku, 108-8345 Tokyo, Japan; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan.
Parisa Sepehri: University of Manitoba, Department of Psychology, 190 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2 MB, Canada.
Jeffrey R Stevens: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Psychology, Centre for Brain, Biology & Behavior, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
Alexander H Taylor: Auckland University, School of Psychology, 23 Symonds Street, 1010 Auckland, New Zealand.
Lin Wang: Nanjing University, Lab of Animal Behavior & Conservation, School of Life Sciences, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023 Nanjing, China.
London M Wolff: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Psychology, Centre for Brain, Biology & Behavior, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
Yigui Zhang: Nanjing University, Lab of Animal Behavior & Conservation, School of Life Sciences, 163 Xianlin Avenue, 210023 Nanjing, China.
Nicola S Clayton: University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK.
Behavioral responses to novelty, including fear and subsequent avoidance of novel stimuli, i.e., neophobia, determine how animals interact with their environment. Neophobia aids in navigating risk and impacts on adaptability and survival. There is variation within and between individuals and species; however, lack of large-scale, comparative studies critically limits investigation of the socio-ecological drivers of neophobia. In this study, we tested responses to novel objects and food (alongside familiar food) versus a baseline (familiar food alone) in 10 corvid species (241 subjects) across 10 labs worldwide. There were species differences in the latency to touch familiar food in the novel object and novel food conditions relative to the baseline. Four of seven socio-ecological factors influenced object neophobia: (1) use of urban habitat (versus not), (2) territorial pair versus family group sociality, (3) large versus small maximum flock size, and (4) moderate versus specialized caching (whereas range, hunting live animals, and genus did not), while only maximum flock size influenced food neophobia. We found that, overall, individuals were temporally and contextually repeatable (i.e., consistent) in their novelty responses in all conditions, indicating neophobia is a stable behavioral trait. With this study, we have established a network of corvid researchers, demonstrating potential for further collaboration to explore the evolution of cognition in corvids and other bird species. These novel findings enable us, for the first time in corvids, to identify the socio-ecological correlates of neophobia and grant insight into specific elements that drive higher neophobic responses in this avian family group. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
