Wildfact Library

[Sully]

It's clear to see why this amazing paper won the Journal of Zoology 2019 paper of the year. We tend to underestimate non mammalian/bird intelligence in the animal world, which is interesting since birds are actually reptiles. Things like this shouldn't be so unexpected really.

Learning skills in Tropidurus lizards are associated with territory harshness

Abstract

Learning increases the ability to cope with challenges experienced in natural environments and likely affects animal survival, especially in harsh environments. Most evidence for associations between environmental characteristics and learning ability derives from comparisons among closely related species of mammals or birds, although the contribution of such behavioral trait for variation in habitat usage may be established among individuals at the population level. Here, we used individuals of Tropidurus catalanensis lizards from the same population to test for associations between individual problem-solving capacity and the type of territory used. Our prediction was that individuals living in harsher territories would exhibit enhanced capability for problem solving than lizards from more permissive (mild) territories. Lizards were tested during eight non-consecutive days using a customized feeder and visual cues. After confirming that lizards learn to solve the proposed task, we corroborated the hypothesis that environmental parameters affecting territory harshness are associated with individual learning capacity. Specifically, individuals living in harsh territories presented greater enhancement of their performance for problem solving with exposure to the task. We also identified that some of these lizards shifted their behavior along the 2 weeks of trials, adopting an approach that apparently minimized attempts prior to success. Challenges imposed by structurally different territories may be overcome by individuals exhibiting enhanced learning, a skill that may initially allow colonization of harsh territories by a given set of individuals but might also be cryptic in the population and then become expressed in response to specific environmental settings. Reply