Behavioural innovation, the use of new behaviours or existing ones in novel contexts, can have important ecological and evolutionary consequences for animals. An understanding of these consequences wo
Novel behaviours are the raw material of cultural evolution, yet we do not have a clear picture of when they are likely to arise. I use a state-dependent model to examine how individual age and energy
Behavioural flexibility is considered a key factor in the ability to adapt to changing environments. A traditional way of characterising behavioural flexibility is to determine whether individuals inv
Innovation is a well-studied cognitive phenomenon related to general intelligence and brain size. Innovative ability varies considerably within species and it is widely assumed that this variation mus