Persistence explains differences in innovation in Darwin’s finches with a different foraging ecology

The capacity to create new behaviors is influenced by environmental factors such as foraging ecology, which can lead to phylogenetic variation in innovativeness. Alternatively, these differences may arise due to the selection of the underlying mechanisms, collaterally affecting innovativeness. To understand the evolutionary pathways that might enhance innovativeness, we examined the role of diet breadth and degree of extractive foraging, as well as a range of intervening cognitive and behavioral mechanisms (neophilia, neophobia, flexibility, motivation and persistence). Darwin’s finches are very suitable for this purpose: the clade is composed of closely related species that vary in their feeding habits and capacity to develop food innovations. Using a multi-access box, we conducted an interspecies comparison on innovative problem-solving between two diet specialists, extractive foragers (woodpecker and cactus finch), and two diet generalist, non-extractive foragers (small and medium gr...

产生新行为的能力受觅食生态等环境因素影响，此类因素可导致创新性的系统发育变异。反之，这类差异也可能源于潜在机制的选择，并间接影响创新性。为探明可提升创新性的进化路径，本研究考察了食性宽度、提取式觅食（extractive foraging）程度的作用，以及一系列中介认知与行为机制：新物偏好（neophilia）、新物恐惧（neophobia）、行为灵活性、动机与坚持性。达尔文雀（Darwin’s finches）非常适合作为该研究的对象：该演化支（clade）由多个近缘物种构成，这些物种的食性与食物创新能力存在显著差异。本研究使用多入口解谜箱（multi-access box），对两类食性特化的提取式觅食者（啄木雀与仙人掌雀）以及两类食性广化的非提取式觅食者（小型与中型地雀[gr...]）开展了创新性问题解决能力的种间比较。