Great tit study shows brainy isn’t always best
Humans don't have a monopoly on being smart: many other animals, including birds, can solve problems and even make and use tools. But does it always pay for animals to be brainy or are there hidden costs? A recent study of great tits led by Ella Cole of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, published in Current Biology , gives an insight into the trade-offs between problem-solving abilities and other traits. I asked Ella about birds, brains, and strategies. OxSciBlog: What makes great tits good for studying problem-solving? - Ella Cole: Great tits are well-known for their ability to problem-solve in order to find food, ranking among the top 20 most innovative avian species. This ability to solve novel problems or find new food sources may be one reason why great tits are able to survive in such a variety of different habitats. In our work with the tits, we try to establish whether good and poor problem solvers differ in how they forage in the wild and how successful they are at reproducing. Our problem solving trials are carried out in captivity under standardised conditions. We therefore need to test large numbers of individuals as we cannot be certain how many birds we will be able to find again once they are released back into the wild. Great tits are an excellent study species because they can be caught in large numbers, easily adapt to captive conditions and take to nest boxes allowing us to monitor their foraging behaviour and breeding success in the wild. OSB: What links did you find between problem-solving and successfully raising offspring?
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