Song repertoire size in male song sparrows correlates with detour reaching, but not with other cognitive measures

Animal Behaviour

Volumn 81, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 1209-1216

  Boogert, Neeltje J ^a   Anderson, Rindy C ^b   Peters, Susan ^b   Searcy, William A ^c   Nowicki, Stephen ^b  

^a MCGILL UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE   (United States)

^c University of Miami   (United States)

Author keywords

Behavioural flexibility; Cognition; Learning; Melospiza melodia; Sexual selection; Song complexity; Song sparrow; Songbird

Indexed keywords

BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY; CAPTIVITY; COGNITION; COLOR; COMPARATIVE STUDY; FEMALE BEHAVIOR; FITNESS; HYPOTHESIS TESTING; JUVENILE; LEARNING; LIFE HISTORY TRAIT; MATE CHOICE; SEXUAL SELECTION; SONG; SONGBIRD;

AVES; MELOSPIZA; MELOSPIZA MELODIA; PASSERI;

EID: 79957715142     PISSN: 00033472     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.03.004     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. Airey D.C., Castillo-Juarez H., Casella G., Pollak E.J., DeVoogd T.J. Variation in the volume of zebra finch song control nuclei is heritable: developmental and evolutionary implications. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2000, 267:2099-2104.
2. Amici F., Aureli F., Call J. Fission-fusion dynamics, behavioral flexibility, and inhibitory control in primates. Current Biology 2008, 18:1415-1419.
3. Arcese P., Sogge M.K., Marr A.B., Patten M.A. Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia). The Birds of North America Online 2002, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online:. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/704, 10.2173/bna.704. A. Poole (Ed.).
4. Beecher M.D., Brenowitz E.A. Functional aspects of song learning in songbirds. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 2005, 20:143-149.
5. Beecher M.D., Campbell S.E., Stoddard P.K. Correlation of song learning and territory establishment strategies in the song sparrow. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 1994, 91:1450-1454.
6. Biondi L.M. Inter-individual and age differences in exploration, neophobia and problem solving ability in a Neotropical raptor (Milvago chimango). Animal Cognition 2010, 13:701-710.
7. Bitterman M.E. Phyletic differences in learning. American Psychologist 1965, 20:396-410.
8. Bitterman M.E. The comparative analysis of learning. Science 1975, 188:699-709.
9. Bond A.B., Kamil A.C., Balda R.P. Serial reversal learning and the evolution of behavioral flexibility in three species of North American corvids (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, Nucifraga columbiana, Aphelocoma californica). Journal of Comparative Psychology 2007, 121:372-379.
10. Boogert N.J., Reader S.M., Laland K.N. The relation between social rank, neophobia and individual learning in starlings. Animal Behaviour 2006, 72:1229-1239.
11. Boogert N.J., Giraldeau L.-A., Lefebvre L. Song complexity correlates with learning ability in zebra finch males. Animal Behaviour 2008, 76:1735-1741.
12. Boogert N.J., Monceau K., Lefebvre L. A field test of behavioural flexibility in Zenaida doves (Zenaida aurita). Behavioural Processes 2010, 85:135-141.
13. Botero C.A., Boogert N.J., Vehrencamp S.L., Lovette I.J. Climatic patterns predict the elaboration of song displays in mockingbirds. Current Biology 2009, 19:1-5.
14. Bouchard J., Goodyer W., Lefebvre L. Social learning and innovation are positively correlated in pigeons (Columba livia). Animal Cognition 2007, 10:259-266.
15. Carlson S.M., Moses L.J. Individual differences in inhibitory control and children's theory of mind. Child Development 2001, 72:1032-1053.
16. Carroll J.B. Human Cognitive Abilities 1993, Cambridge University Press, New York.
17. Castro C.A., Tracy M., Rudy J.W. Early-life undernutrition impairs the development of the learning and short-term-memory processes mediating performance in a conditional-spatial discrimination task. Behavioural Brain Research 1989, 32:255-264.
18. Catchpole C.K., Slater P.J.B. Bird Song: Biological Themes and Variations 2008, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
19. Chandra S.B.C., Hosler J.S., Smith B.H. Heritable variation for latent inhibition and its correlation with reversal learning in honeybees (Apis mellifera). Journal of Comparative Psychology 2000, 114:86-97.
20. Coleman S.W., Patricelli G.L., Coyle B., Siani J., Borgia G. Female preferences drive the evolution of mimetic accuracy in male sexual displays. Biology Letters 2007, 3:463-466.
21. Day L.B., Crews D., Wilczynski W. Spatial and reversal learning in congeneric lizards with different foraging strategies. Animal Behaviour 1999, 57:393-407.
22. Deary I.J., Penke L., Johnson W. The neuroscience of human intelligence differences. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2010, 11:201-211.
23. Dempster F.N. The rise and fall of the inhibitory mechanism: toward a unified theory of cognitive development and aging. Developmental Review 1992, 12:45-75.
24. De Souza A.S., da Camara Pacheco L., da Silva Castro P., Hokoc J.N., Rocha M.S., do Carmo M.G.T. Brain fatty acid profiles and spatial learning in malnourished rats: effects of nutritional intervention. Nutritional Neuroscience 2008, 11:119-127.
25. DeVoogd T.J. Neural constraints on the complexity of avian song. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 2004, 63:221-232.
26. Diamond A. Developmental time course in human infants and infant monkeys, and the neural bases of, inhibitory control in reaching. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1990, 608:637-676.
27. Donaldson, C. E. 2009. Post-natal environmental effects on behaviour in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Ph.D. thesis, University of Glasgow.
28. Erhard H.W., Boissy A., Rae M.T., Rhind S.M. Effects of prenatal undernutrition on emotional reactivity and cognitive flexibility in adult sheep. Behavioural Brain Research 2004, 151:25-35.
29. Fisher M.O., Nager R.G., Monaghan P. Compensatory growth impairs adult cognitive performance. PLoS Biology 2006, 4:1462-1466.
30. Fukuda M.T.H., Francolin-Silva A.L., Almeida S.S. Early postnatal protein malnutrition affects learning and memory in the distal but not in the proximal cue version of the Morris water maze. Behavioural Brain Research 2002, 133:271-277.
31. Galsworthy M.J., Paya-Cano J.L., Monleon S., Plomin R. Evidence for general cognitive ability (g) in heterogeneous stock mice and an analysis of potential confounds. Genes, Brain and Behavior 2002, 1:88-95.
32. Galsworthy M.J., Paya-Cano J.L., Liu L., Monleon S., Gregoryan G., Fernandes C., Schalkwyk L.C., Plomin R. Assessing reliability, heritability and general cognitive ability in a battery of cognitive tasks for laboratory mice. Behavior Genetics 2005, 35:675-692.
33. Hauser M.D. Perseveration, inhibition and the prefrontal cortex: a new look. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 1999, 9:214-222.
34. Hauser M.D., Santos L.R., Spaepen G.M., Pearson H.E. Problem solving, inhibition and domain specific experience: experiments on cottontop tamarins, Saguinus oedipus. Animal Behaviour 2002, 64:387-396.
35. Herrmann E., Hernandez-Lloreda M.V., Call J., Hare B., Tomasello M. The structure of individual differences in the cognitive abilities of children and chimpanzees. Psychological Science 2010, 21:102-110.
36. Hiebert S.M., Stoddard P.K., Arcese P. Repertoire size, territory acquisition and reproductive success in the song sparrow. Animal Behaviour 1989, 37:266-273.
37. Hughes M., Nowicki S., Searcy W.A., Peters S. Song type sharing in song sparrows: implications for repertoire function and song learning. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 1998, 42:437-446.
38. Jones C.B. Behavioral Flexibility in Primates: Causes and Consequences 2005, Springer-Verlag, New York.
39. Keagy J., Savard J.F., Borgia G. Male satin bowerbird problem-solving ability predicts mating success. Animal Behaviour 2009, 78:809-817.
40. Kitaysky A.S., Kitaiskaia E.V., Piatt J.F., Wingfield J.C. Benefits and costs of increased levels of corticosterone in seabird chicks. Hormones and Behavior 2003, 43:140-149.
41. Kitaysky A.S., Kitaiskaia E.V., Piatt J.F., Wingfield J.C. A mechanistic link between chick diet and decline in seabirds?. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2006, 273:445-450.
42. Kotrschal A., Taborsky B. Environmental change enhances cognitive abilities in fish. PLoS Biology 2010, 8:e1000351.
43. Lefebvre L., Reader S.M., Sol D. Brains, innovations and evolution in birds and primates. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 2004, 63:233-246.
44. Levitsky D.A., Strupp B.J. Malnutrition and the brain: changing concepts, changing concerns. Journal of Nutrition 1995, 125:S2212-S2220.
45. Light K.R., Kolata S., Wass C., Denman-Brice A., Zagalsky R., Matzel L.D. Working memory training promotes general cognitive abilities in genetically heterogeneous mice. Current Biology 2010, 20:777-782.
46. Locurto C., Fortin E., Sullivan R. The structure of individual differences in Heterogeneous Stock mice across problem types and motivational systems. Genes, Brain and Behavior 2003, 2:40-55.
47. Lupien S.J., McEwen B.S., Gunnar M.R., Heim C. Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2009, 10:434-445.
48. McCormick C.M., Nixon F., Thomas C., Lowie B., Dyck J. Hippocampal cell proliferation and spatial memory performance after social instability stress in adolescence in female rats. Behavioural Brain Research 2010, 208:23-29.
49. Marler P. Song learning: the interface between behavior and neuroethology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 1990, 329:109-114.
50. Marler P., Peters S. A sensitive period for song acquisition in the song sparrow, Melospiza melodia: a case of age-limited learning. Ethology 1987, 76:89-100.
51. Matzel L.D., Kolata S. Selective attention, working memory, and animal intelligence. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 2010, 34:23-30.
52. Matzel L.D., Han Y.R., Grossman H., Karnik M.S., Patel D., Scott N., Specht S.M., Gandhi C.C. Individual differences in the expression of a 'general' learning ability in mice. Journal of Neuroscience 2003, 23:6423-6433.
53. Matzel L.D., Townsend D.A., Grossman H., Han Y.R., Hale G., Zappulla M., Light K., Kolata S. Exploration in outbred mice covaries with general learning abilities irrespective of stress reactivity, emotionality, and physical attributes. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 2006, 86:228-240.
54. Mischel W., Shoda Y., Rodriguez M.L. Delay of gratification in children. Science 1989, 244:933-938.
55. Nordby J.C., Campbell S.E., Beecher M.D. Ecological correlates of song learning in song sparrows. Behavioral Ecology 1999, 10:287-297.
56. Nordby J.C., Campbell S.E., Beecher M.D. Adult song sparrows do not alter their song repertoires. Ethology 2002, 108:39-50.
57. Nowicki S., Hasselquist D., Bensch S., Peters S. Nestling growth and song repertoire sire in great reed warblers: evidence for song learning as an indicator mechanism in mate choice. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2000, 267:2419-2424.
58. Nowicki S., Searcy W.A., Peters S. Brain development, song learning and mate choice in birds: a review and experimental test of the 'nutritional stress hypothesis'. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 2002, 188:1003-1014.
59. Nowicki S., Searcy W.A., Peters S. Quality of song learning affects female response to male bird song. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2002, 269:1949-1954.
60. Pfaff J.A., Zanette L., MacDougall-Shackleton S.A., MacDougall-Shackleton E.A. Song repertoire size varies with HVC volume and is indicative of male quality in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2007, 274:2035-2040.
61. Plomin R. The genetics of g in human and mouse. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2001, 2:136-141.
62. Podos J., Peters S., Rudnicky T., Marler P., Nowicki S. The organization of song repertoires in song sparrows: themes and variations. Ethology 1992, 90:89-106.
63. Pravosudov V.V., Lavenex P., Omanska A. Nutritional deficits during early development affect hippocampal structure and spatial memory later in life. Behavioral Neuroscience 2005, 119:1368-1374.
64. Reader S.M., Laland K.N. Animal innovation: an introduction. Animal Innovation 2003, 3-35. Oxford University Press, Oxford. S.M. Reader, K.N. Laland (Eds.).
65. Reid J.M., Arcese P., Cassidy A., Hiebert S.M., Smith J.N.M., Stoddard P.K., Marr A.B., Keller L.F. Song repertoire size predicts initial mating success in male song sparrows, Melospiza melodia. Animal Behaviour 2004, 68:1055-1063.
66. Reid J.M., Arcese P., Cassidy A., Hiebert S.M., Smith J.N.M., Stoddard P.K., Marr A.B., Keller L.F. Fitness correlates of song repertoire size in free-living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). American Naturalist 2005, 165:299-310.
67. Reid J.M., Arcese P., Cassidy A., Marr A.B., Smith J.N.M., Keller L.F. Hamilton and Zuk meet heterozygosity? Song repertoire size indicates inbreeding and immunity in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2005, 272:481-487.
68. Roth T.C., LaDage L.D., Pravosudov V.V. Learning capabilities enhanced in harsh environments: a common garden approach. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2010, 277:3187-3193.
69. Rothbart M.K., Posner M.I. Temperament and the development of self-regulation. The Neuropsychology of Individual Differences: a Developmental Perspective 1985, 93-123. Plenum, New York. L. Hartlage, C.F. Telzrow (Eds.).
70. Santos L.R., Ericson B.N., Hauser M.D. Constraints on problem solving and inhibition: object retrieval in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus oedipus). Journal of Comparative Psychology 1999, 113:186-193.
71. Searcy W.A. Song repertoire size and female preferences in song sparrows. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 1984, 14:281-286.
72. Searcy W.A., Marler P. A test for responsiveness to song structure and programming in female sparrows. Science 1981, 213:926-928.
73. Searcy W.A., Nowicki S. Consequences of brain development for sexual signaling in songbirds. Cognitive Ecology II 2009, 71-87. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. R. Dukas, J.M. Ratcliffe (Eds.).
74. Searcy W.A., McArthur P.D., Yasukawa K. Song repertoire size and male quality in song sparrows. Condor 1985, 87:222-228.
75. Searcy W.A., Peters S., Kipper S., Nowicki S. Female response to song reflects male developmental history in swamp sparrows. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 2010, 64:1343-1349.
76. Shettleworth S.J. Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior 2010, Oxford University Press, New York.
77. Sol D. The cognitive-buffer hypothesis for the evolution of large brains. Cognitive Ecology II 2009, 111-134. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. R. Dukas, J.M. Ratcliffe (Eds.).
78. Tebbich S., Sterelny K., Teschke I. The tale of the finch: adaptive radiation and behavioural flexibility. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 2010, 365:1099-1109.
79. Timmermans S., Lefebvre L., Boire D., Basu P. Relative size of the hyperstriatum ventrale is the best predictor of feeding innovation rate in birds. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 2000, 56:196-203.
80. Vlamings P.H., Hare B., Call J. Reaching around barriers: the performance of the great apes and 3-5-year-old children. Animal Cognition 2010, 13:273-285.
81. Zann R.A. The Zebra Finch: a Synthesis of Field and Laboratory Studies 1996, Oxford University Press, Oxford.