|
 The study showed that the medium-sized rodents demonstrate
persistence and flexibility in order to find nourishment, while
higher behavioural selectivity - the proportion of effective
behaviours used - is directly related to more efficient problem
solving among the creatures. Study authors suggest that the
squirrels demonstrate distinct personality traits in their food
finding behaviour.
Co-author Dr Lisa Leaver told Reuters the successful invasion of the
grey squirrel across Europe make it a fascinating creature for
animal behaviourists to observe.
"They're interesting to us because they have particular
specialisations for catching food," she said. "They're a really
successful invader in the UK and in Europe, and that might be
related to their abilities to solve problems and perhaps dealing
with learning in a different way or it maybe a more efficient way
than other species do and we know that invasive species tend to be
quite clever in a lot of different ways that you measure them. They
tend to have slightly bigger brains relative to their body sizes."
 The researchers, led by Leaver and Pizza Ka Yee Chow, from the
university's Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, and Emeritus
Professor Stephen Lea, set up specially designed boxes containing
visible, but out-of-reach hazelnuts in a controlled, indoor
environment. The squirrels were observed to see how successful they
were at understanding how to reach the food, figuring out which
lever to pull or push to make the nuts fall to the floor.
The squirrels learnt to solve the puzzle quickly, and over time
increased their efficiency. Leaver said the study gives the clearest
indication yet as to the roles of flexibility and persistence in the
grey squirrel's problem solving process.
She told Reuters: "We were surprised to find that flexibility was
stable across trials learning how to use this apparatus, and that
indicates that it might be more like what you would call a
personality trait than something that they can change across
learning, for instance that they can change over time depending on
the situation. It's an indication that it is a much more stable
trait in individual animals."
[to top of second column] |
While persistence and behavioural selectivity appeared to be
associated with problem-solving efficiency, the squirrels'
flexibility - the rate that a squirrel switched between behavioural
tactics - did not help them learn which lever to push or pull, and
in fact increased the time it took for them to get their food.
According to Leaver, "it's important because flexibility is
something that you automatically think of as changing over time and
to know that it's not necessarily involved in helping animals learn,
and in fact it might actually be costly is really interesting
because it might change the way that we look at how animals solve
problems in the wild, and also how an invasive species might or
might not be successful when it faces and enters a new environment."
By identifying the mechanisms involved in solving problems, the team
hopes to better understand the wide variation in behaviour between
individuals and similar species. The team now plans to compare the
cognitive abilities of the grey squirrel with its cousin, the red
squirrel.
"That is particularly interesting to look at, perhaps also across
species, looking at differences between red and grey squirrels, for
instance, and how grey squirrels solve problems as opposed to how
red squirrels solve problems. It may give us some insight into how
they might differ in their cognitive abilities and their behaviours
which might help them or hinder them from solving problems and help
them enter new environments," said Leaver.
The study was published in leading scientific journal Animal
Behaviour.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
