The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird
Abstract Research examining how cognitive traits evolve in the wild has focussed on finding evidence of the ‘Darwinian holy trinity’– consistent individual variation in cognitive performance that is linked to fitness and has a heritable component. In food-storing birds, there is growing evidence of...
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Springer
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Animal Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01950-5 |
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| author | Tas I.F. Vámos Ella McCallum Rachael C. Shaw |
| author_facet | Tas I.F. Vámos Ella McCallum Rachael C. Shaw |
| author_sort | Tas I.F. Vámos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Research examining how cognitive traits evolve in the wild has focussed on finding evidence of the ‘Darwinian holy trinity’– consistent individual variation in cognitive performance that is linked to fitness and has a heritable component. In food-storing birds, there is growing evidence of selection for more accurate spatial memory performance. However, for selection to act on variation in spatial memory performance, it must also have a genetic component. In this study, we used Bayesian animal models to evaluate the heritability of memory performance in a spatial reference memory task in a population of wild toutouwai (North Island robin, Petroica longipes). We also estimated the heritability of variation in measures of the caching behaviour that spatial memory theoretically underpins. We found little evidence of heritability in either spatial memory performance or caching measures, as credible intervals were large with lower bounds close to zero. This result could suggest that individual variation in memory performance and caching behaviour may be primarily due to non-genetic factors. For example, variation in toutouwai spatial memory could be shaped largely by the cognitive demands of altering caching decisions in response to cache theft risk. In this scenario, the underlying mechanisms determining and linking spatial memory and caching behaviour would need to be reconsidered. Alternatively, the large credible intervals for our heritability estimates may be an artefact of small sample size. Therefore, to progress our understanding of how cognition evolves, it is crucial to establish long-term studies in the wild to collect cognitive performance data from as many individuals as possible over successive generations, with the goal of increasing the reliability of heritability estimates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e9b8d5d6c01241479185e1727c54192d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
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| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-e9b8d5d6c01241479185e1727c54192d2025-08-20T02:17:09ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562025-04-0128111110.1007/s10071-025-01950-5The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing birdTas I.F. Vámos0Ella McCallum1Rachael C. Shaw2School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of WellingtonSchool of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of WellingtonSchool of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of WellingtonAbstract Research examining how cognitive traits evolve in the wild has focussed on finding evidence of the ‘Darwinian holy trinity’– consistent individual variation in cognitive performance that is linked to fitness and has a heritable component. In food-storing birds, there is growing evidence of selection for more accurate spatial memory performance. However, for selection to act on variation in spatial memory performance, it must also have a genetic component. In this study, we used Bayesian animal models to evaluate the heritability of memory performance in a spatial reference memory task in a population of wild toutouwai (North Island robin, Petroica longipes). We also estimated the heritability of variation in measures of the caching behaviour that spatial memory theoretically underpins. We found little evidence of heritability in either spatial memory performance or caching measures, as credible intervals were large with lower bounds close to zero. This result could suggest that individual variation in memory performance and caching behaviour may be primarily due to non-genetic factors. For example, variation in toutouwai spatial memory could be shaped largely by the cognitive demands of altering caching decisions in response to cache theft risk. In this scenario, the underlying mechanisms determining and linking spatial memory and caching behaviour would need to be reconsidered. Alternatively, the large credible intervals for our heritability estimates may be an artefact of small sample size. Therefore, to progress our understanding of how cognition evolves, it is crucial to establish long-term studies in the wild to collect cognitive performance data from as many individuals as possible over successive generations, with the goal of increasing the reliability of heritability estimates.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01950-5Bayesian animal modelPetroica longipesCognitive evolutionCognitive ecologyQuantitative geneticsCognitive plasticity |
| spellingShingle | Tas I.F. Vámos Ella McCallum Rachael C. Shaw The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird Animal Cognition Bayesian animal model Petroica longipes Cognitive evolution Cognitive ecology Quantitative genetics Cognitive plasticity |
| title | The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird |
| title_full | The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird |
| title_fullStr | The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird |
| title_full_unstemmed | The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird |
| title_short | The heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food-storing bird |
| title_sort | heritability of spatial memory and caching behaviour in a food storing bird |
| topic | Bayesian animal model Petroica longipes Cognitive evolution Cognitive ecology Quantitative genetics Cognitive plasticity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-025-01950-5 |
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