Vultures as an overlooked model in cognitive ecology

van Overveld, Thijs; Sol, Daniel; Blanco, Guillermo; Margalida, Antoni; de la Riva, Manuel; Donázar, José Antonio (2022). Vultures as an overlooked model in cognitive ecology. Animal Cognition, 25(3), pp. 495-507. Springer 10.1007/s10071-021-01585-2

[img] Text
van_Overveld_AniCog2022.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (1MB)

Despite important recent advances in cognitive ecology, our current understanding of avian cognition still largely rests on research conducted on a few model taxa. Vultures are an ecologically distinctive group of species by being the only obli-
gate carrion consumers across terrestrial vertebrates. Their unique scavenging lifestyle suggests they have been subject to particular selective pressures to locate scarce, unpredictable, ephemeral, and nutritionally challenging food. However, substantial variation exists among species in diet, foraging techniques and social structure of populations. Here, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on vulture cognition through a comprehensive literature review and a compilation of our own observations. We find evidence for a variety of innovative foraging behaviors, scrounging tactics, collective problem-solving abilities and tool-use, skills that are considered indicative of enhanced cognition and that bear clear connections with the eco-social lifestyles of species. However, we also find that the cognitive basis of these skills remain insufficiently studied, and identify new research areas that require further attention in the future. Despite these knowledge gaps and the challenges of working with such large animals, we conclude that vultures may provide fresh insight into our knowledge of
the ecology and evolution of cognition.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Review Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) > Conservation Biology

UniBE Contributor:

Margalida, Antoni

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)

ISSN:

1435-9448

Publisher:

Springer

Language:

English

Submitter:

Olivier Roth

Date Deposited:

16 Mar 2023 07:40

Last Modified:

19 Mar 2023 02:15

Publisher DOI:

10.1007/s10071-021-01585-2

PubMed ID:

34817739

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/180176

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/180176

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback