Linking cognition to ecology in wild sympatric mouse lemur species.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive abilities covary with both social and ecological factors across animal taxa. Ecological generalists have been attributed with enhanced cognitive abilities, but which specific ecological factors may have shaped the evolution of which specific cognitive abilities remains poorly known. To explore these links, we applied a cognitive test battery (two personality, ten cognitive tests; n = 1104 tests) to wild individuals of two sympatric mouse lemur species (n = 120 Microcebus murinus, n = 34 M. berthae) varying in ecological adaptations but sharing key features of their social systems. The habitat and dietary generalist grey mouse lemurs were more innovative and exhibited better spatial learning abilities; a cognitive advantage in responding adaptively to d

SUBMITTER: Henke-von der Malsburg J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8611352 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature