Exploring individual variation in associative learning abilities through an operant conditioning task in wild baboons.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive abilities underpin many of the behavioural decisions of animals. However, we still have very little understanding of how and why cognitive abilities vary between individuals of the same species in wild populations. In this study, we assessed the associative learning abilities of wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) across two troops in Namibia with a simple operant conditioning task. We evaluated the ability of individuals to correctly associate a particular colour of corn kernels with a distasteful flavour through repeated presentations of two small piles of corn dyed different colours, one of which had been treated with a non-toxic bitter substance. We also assessed whether individual variation in learning ability was associated with particular phenotypic traits (sex, social ran

SUBMITTER: Martina C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7135308 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature