As an increasing number of researchers investigate the cognitive abilities of an ever-wider range of animals,animal cognition is currently among the most exciting fields within animal behavior.Tinbergen would be proud...As an increasing number of researchers investigate the cognitive abilities of an ever-wider range of animals,animal cognition is currently among the most exciting fields within animal behavior.Tinbergen would be proud:all four of his approaches are being pursued and we are learning much about how animals collect information and how they use that information to make decisions for their current and future states as well as what animals do not perceive or choose to ignore.Here I provide an overview of this productivity,alighting only briefly on any single example,to showcase the diversity of species,of approaches and the sheer mass of research effort currently under way.We are getting closer to understanding the minds of other animals and the evolution of cognition at an increasingly rapid rate.展开更多
Orb-web spiders and their webs constitute an ideal model system in which to study behavioural flexibility and spatial cognition in invertebrates due to the easily quantifiable nature of the orb web. A large number of ...Orb-web spiders and their webs constitute an ideal model system in which to study behavioural flexibility and spatial cognition in invertebrates due to the easily quantifiable nature of the orb web. A large number of studies demonstrate how spiders are able to modify the geometry of their webs in response to a range of different conditions including the ability to adapt their webs to spatial constraints. However, the mechanisms behind this impressive web-building flexibility in these cognitively limited animals remain poorly explored. One possible mechanism though may be spatial learning during the spiders＇ exploration of their immediate surroundings. This review discusses the importance of exploration behaviour, the reliance on simple behavioural rules, and the use of already laid threads as guidelines for web-building in orb-web spiders. The focus is on the spiders＇ ability to detect and adapt their webs to space limitations and other spatial disruptions. I will also review the few published studies on how spatial information is gathered during the exploration phase and discuss the possibility of the use of ＇cognitive map＇-like processes in spiders. Finally, the review provides suggestions for designing experimental studies to shed light on whether spiders gather metric information during the site exploration （cognitive map hypothesis） or rely on more simple binary information in combination with previously laid threads to build their webs （stigmergy hypothesis）.展开更多
文摘As an increasing number of researchers investigate the cognitive abilities of an ever-wider range of animals,animal cognition is currently among the most exciting fields within animal behavior.Tinbergen would be proud:all four of his approaches are being pursued and we are learning much about how animals collect information and how they use that information to make decisions for their current and future states as well as what animals do not perceive or choose to ignore.Here I provide an overview of this productivity,alighting only briefly on any single example,to showcase the diversity of species,of approaches and the sheer mass of research effort currently under way.We are getting closer to understanding the minds of other animals and the evolution of cognition at an increasingly rapid rate.
文摘Orb-web spiders and their webs constitute an ideal model system in which to study behavioural flexibility and spatial cognition in invertebrates due to the easily quantifiable nature of the orb web. A large number of studies demonstrate how spiders are able to modify the geometry of their webs in response to a range of different conditions including the ability to adapt their webs to spatial constraints. However, the mechanisms behind this impressive web-building flexibility in these cognitively limited animals remain poorly explored. One possible mechanism though may be spatial learning during the spiders＇ exploration of their immediate surroundings. This review discusses the importance of exploration behaviour, the reliance on simple behavioural rules, and the use of already laid threads as guidelines for web-building in orb-web spiders. The focus is on the spiders＇ ability to detect and adapt their webs to space limitations and other spatial disruptions. I will also review the few published studies on how spatial information is gathered during the exploration phase and discuss the possibility of the use of ＇cognitive map＇-like processes in spiders. Finally, the review provides suggestions for designing experimental studies to shed light on whether spiders gather metric information during the site exploration （cognitive map hypothesis） or rely on more simple binary information in combination with previously laid threads to build their webs （stigmergy hypothesis）.
