Logical inferences from visual and auditory information in ruffed lemurs and sifakas

Inference by exclusion, or the ability to select a correct course of action by systematically excluding other potential alternatives, is a form of logical inference that allow individuals to solve problems without complete information. Current comparative research shows that several bird, mammal, and primate species can find hidden food through inference by exclusion. Yet there is also wide variation in how successful different species are, as well kinds of sensory information they can use to do so. An important question is therefore why some species are better at engaging in logical inference than others. Here, we investigate the evolution of logical reasoning abilities by comparing two strepsirrhine primate species that vary in dietary ecology: frugivorous ruffed lemur (Varecia spp.) and folivorous Coquerel’s sifakas (Propithecus coquereli). Across two studies, we examined their abilities to locate food using direct information versus inference from exclusion and using both visual and...排除推理（Inference by exclusion），即通过系统性排除其他潜在备选方案以选定正确行动路径的能力，是一类可使个体在未掌握完整信息的前提下解决问题的逻辑推理形式。现有比较研究显示，多种鸟类、哺乳类与灵长类动物均可通过排除推理定位隐藏食物。然而不同物种的任务成功率存在显著差异，且它们可用于完成该任务的感官信息类型也各不相同。因此，一个关键研究问题随之产生：为何部分物种相较于其他物种更擅长进行逻辑推理？本研究通过对比两种食性生态存在差异的原猴亚目灵长类物种——食果性领狐猴（Varecia spp.）与食叶性科克氏冕狐猴（Propithecus coquereli）——来探究逻辑推理能力的演化机制。在两项实验中，我们考察了它们分别利用直接信息、排除推理，以及结合视觉与（原文未完整呈现）定位食物的能力。