Are the least social animals the most innovative?

Newswise — The ability to innovate, or find new and creative solutions to problems, is important for the survival and adaptation of humans and animals alike. Researchers at the University of Barcelona conducted a study on ungulates, a group of mammals that walk on the tips of their toes or hooves, including dromedaries, horses, and goats, to understand what makes certain species or individuals more innovative than others. The study found that individuals who were less socially integrated within the group and more fearful of new objects were better at solving a challenge presented by the researchers, which involved opening a food container.

The study's findings are consistent with recent research on wild and captive primates. They suggest that less socially integrated individuals are less likely to obtain resources like food but more likely to overcome neophobia or fear of new things. Additionally, the study supports the idea that ungulates, such as dromedaries, horses, and goats, can be used to test evolutionary theories with a comparative approach. Álvaro López Caicoya, a predoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and the Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) of the UB and the article's first author, made these comments.

The researcher suggests that while most comparative studies on cognitive evolution have focused on birds and primates, it's crucial to include other species like ungulates in future studies. This is because the evolutionary pressures on these different species may be distinct, and including a variety of taxa can help us better understand the limits and generalizations of specific evolutionary hypotheses.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, includes the participation of Montserrat Colell, lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology and researcher at UBneuro, together with other experts from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Leipzig (Germany).

An experiment with a hundred animals in captivity

The study involved 111 animals from 13 different species of ungulates, such as goats, dromedaries, horses, giraffes, llamas, sheep, and deer. These animals were kept in captivity in zoos located in Barcelona, Barbent (France), Nuremberg, and Leipzig (Germany). The researchers presented the animals with a challenge, which was to open a container they had never seen before that contained their favorite food.

The researchers classified the animals according to various factors that could affect their problem-solving skills, including their fear of new objects, their diet, and their social integration within their group. This allowed them to identify which individual and socio-ecological characteristics were associated with success in solving the challenge presented to them.

Dromedaries and goats, the most skilled

Some species did better than others in the experiment, with all dromedaries approaching the container, but only a third of the sheep did. Domesticated species and those that have complex social groups did well in interacting with the container, but this didn't mean they were better at solving the challenge. The researchers suggest that domesticated species may have traits that help them interact with humans, but not necessarily cognitive skills for problem solving.

Out of the 111 animals that were tested, only 36% were able to open the container and get the food inside at least once. The dromedaries and goats were the most successful species, with 86% and 69% of individuals being able to open the container respectively.

When the animals successfully opened the containers to access the food, the researchers looked at the different methods they used. The majority of the animals used their nose, muzzle, or lips to open the container, while only nine of them used more than one method, like gently lifting the cover with their lips or throwing the container on the ground.

A pioneering study

The study on ungulates' cognition is the first of its kind, as there have been only a few studies conducted on these species before. These animals have been traditionally considered as cattle, and their behavior and understanding have not been of much interest. However, studies like this are starting to show that these animals have complex behaviors that are worth exploring.

The UB researcher emphasized the importance of conducting more studies on ungulates that include a wider range of species and individuals, both in captivity and in the wild, as well as more complex challenges, to generalize the findings. He believes that ungulates are an excellent model for comparative research, and this study is just the first step in understanding the cognition of these animals.

 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2384