Data from: Cognitive performance is linked to group size and affects fitness in Australian magpies

Raw data- adult cognitive testing.xlsx (19.97 Kb):
Results of adult cognitive tests.

Raw data- juvenile cognitive testing.xlsx (17.54 Kb):
Results of juvenile cognitive tests.

Raw data- reproductive success.xlsx (13.62 Kb):
Female reproductive success data, and general cognitive performance scores.

The Social Intelligence Hypothesis argues that the demands of social life drive cognitive evolution. This idea receives support from comparative studies linking variation in group size or mating systems with cognitive and neuroanatomical differences across species, but findings are contradictory and contentious. To understand the cognitive consequences of sociality it is also important to investigate social variation within species. Here we show that in wild, cooperatively breeding Australian magpies, individuals living in larger groups show elevated cognitive performance, which in turn is linked to increased reproductive success. Individual performance was highly correlated across four cognitive tasks, hinting towards a “general intelligence factor” underlying cognitive performance. Repeated cognitive testing of juveniles at different ages showed that the group size – cognition correlation emerged in early life, suggesting that living in larger groups promotes cognitive development. Furthermore, we found a positive association between female task performance and three indicators of reproductive success, thus identifying a selective benefit of greater cognitive performance. Together, these results provide critical intraspecific evidence that sociality can shape cognitive development and evolution.

原始数据——成年认知测试.xlsx（19.97 KB）：成年认知测试结果。
原始数据——幼年认知测试.xlsx（17.54 KB）：幼年认知测试结果。
原始数据——繁殖成功率.xlsx（13.62 KB）：雌性繁殖成功率数据与通用认知表现得分。

社会智力假说（Social Intelligence Hypothesis）提出，社会生活的需求驱动了认知的演化。该假说得到了比较研究的支持——此类研究将不同物种间的群体规模或交配系统差异，与认知和神经解剖学差异建立关联，但相关研究结论存在矛盾与争议。若要理解社会性对认知产生的影响，在物种内部探究社会变异同样具有重要意义。本研究以野生合作繁殖的澳洲喜鹊为研究对象，结果显示：生活在更大群体中的个体，其认知表现更为优异，而这又与繁殖成功率的提升密切相关。四项认知任务中的个体表现高度相关，这暗示认知表现背后存在一种“通用智力因子（general intelligence factor）”。对不同年龄段的幼鸟开展重复认知测试后发现，群体规模与认知表现的关联在生命早期就已显现，表明生活在更大群体中能够促进认知发育。此外，我们发现雌性个体的任务表现与三项繁殖成功率指标呈正相关，由此证实了更高认知表现所带来的选择优势。综上，本研究提供了关键的种内证据，证明社会性能够塑造认知发育与演化进程。