Waterbird solves the string-pull test

String-pulling is among the most widespread cognitive tasks used to test problem-solving skills in mammals and birds. The task requires animals to comprehend that pulling on a non-valuable string moves an otherwise inaccessible food reward to within their reach. Although at least 90 avian species ha...

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Autores principales:	Jessika Lamarre, David R. Wilson
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	The Royal Society 2021
Materias:	problem solving Larus delawarensis aquatic bird cognition animal behaviour means-end understanding Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ae24c80a7b5b42359986bdf654599a6d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ae24c80a7b5b42359986bdf654599a6d2021-12-01T08:05:34ZWaterbird solves the string-pull test10.1098/rsos.2113432054-5703https://doaj.org/article/ae24c80a7b5b42359986bdf654599a6d2021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211343https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703String-pulling is among the most widespread cognitive tasks used to test problem-solving skills in mammals and birds. The task requires animals to comprehend that pulling on a non-valuable string moves an otherwise inaccessible food reward to within their reach. Although at least 90 avian species have been administered the string-pull test, all but five of them were perching birds (passeriformes) or parrots (psittaciformes). Waterbirds (Aequorlitornithes) are poorly represented in the cognitive literature, yet are known to engage in complex foraging behaviours. In this study, we tested whether free-living ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis), a species known for their behavioural flexibility and foraging innovativeness, could solve a horizontal string-pull test. Here, we show that 25% (26/104) of the ring-billed gulls that attempted to solve the test at least once over a maximum of three trials were successful, and that 21% of them (22/104) succeeded during their first attempt. Ring-billed gulls are thus the first waterbird known to solve a horizontal single-string-rewarded string-pull test. Since innovation rate and problem-solving are associated with species' ability to endure environmental alterations, we suggest that testing the problem-solving skills of other species facing environmental challenges will inform us of their vulnerability in a rapidly changing world.Jessika LamarreDavid R. WilsonThe Royal Societyarticleproblem solvingLarus delawarensisaquatic birdcognitionanimal behaviourmeans-end understandingScienceQENRoyal Society Open Science, Vol 8, Iss 12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	problem solving Larus delawarensis aquatic bird cognition animal behaviour means-end understanding Science Q
spellingShingle	problem solving Larus delawarensis aquatic bird cognition animal behaviour means-end understanding Science Q Jessika Lamarre David R. Wilson Waterbird solves the string-pull test
description	String-pulling is among the most widespread cognitive tasks used to test problem-solving skills in mammals and birds. The task requires animals to comprehend that pulling on a non-valuable string moves an otherwise inaccessible food reward to within their reach. Although at least 90 avian species have been administered the string-pull test, all but five of them were perching birds (passeriformes) or parrots (psittaciformes). Waterbirds (Aequorlitornithes) are poorly represented in the cognitive literature, yet are known to engage in complex foraging behaviours. In this study, we tested whether free-living ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis), a species known for their behavioural flexibility and foraging innovativeness, could solve a horizontal string-pull test. Here, we show that 25% (26/104) of the ring-billed gulls that attempted to solve the test at least once over a maximum of three trials were successful, and that 21% of them (22/104) succeeded during their first attempt. Ring-billed gulls are thus the first waterbird known to solve a horizontal single-string-rewarded string-pull test. Since innovation rate and problem-solving are associated with species' ability to endure environmental alterations, we suggest that testing the problem-solving skills of other species facing environmental challenges will inform us of their vulnerability in a rapidly changing world.
format	article
author	Jessika Lamarre David R. Wilson
author_facet	Jessika Lamarre David R. Wilson
author_sort	Jessika Lamarre
title	Waterbird solves the string-pull test
title_short	Waterbird solves the string-pull test
title_full	Waterbird solves the string-pull test
title_fullStr	Waterbird solves the string-pull test
title_full_unstemmed	Waterbird solves the string-pull test
title_sort	waterbird solves the string-pull test
publisher	The Royal Society
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ae24c80a7b5b42359986bdf654599a6d
work_keys_str_mv	AT jessikalamarre waterbirdsolvesthestringpulltest AT davidrwilson waterbirdsolvesthestringpulltest
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Waterbird solves the string-pull test

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