TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bókony, Veronika
AU  - Lendvai, Ádám Zoltán
AU  - Vágási, István Csongor
AU  - Pătraș, L
AU  - Pap, Péter László
AU  - Németh, J
AU  - Vincze, Ernő
AU  - Papp, S
AU  - Preiszner, Bálint
AU  - Seress, Gábor
AU  - Liker, András
TI  - Necessity or capacity? Physiological state predicts problem-solving performance in house sparrows
JF  - BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
J2  - BEHAV ECOL
VL  - 25
PY  - 2014
IS  - 1
SP  - 124
EP  - 135
PG  - 12
SN  - 1045-2249
DO  - 10.1093/beheco/art094
UR  - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/2473775
ID  - 2473775
N1  - Department of Limnology, University of Pannonia, Pf. 158, H-8200 Veszprém, Hungary            
            Department of Biology, College of Nyíregyháza, Sóstói út 31/b, H-4400 Nyíregyháza, Hungary            
            Department of Biology, Virginia Tech, 4102 Derring Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24060-0406, United States            
            Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor street 5-7, RO-400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania            
            MTA-DE 'Lendület' Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary            
            Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt. 98, H-4029 Debrecen, Hungary            
            Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom            
            Cited By :49            
            Export Date: 28 September 2021            
            CODEN: BEECE            
            Correspondence Address: Bókony, V.; Department of Limnology, Pf. 158, H-8200 Veszprém, Hungary; email: vbokony@almos.uni-pannon.hu
AB  - Innovative behaviors such as exploiting novel food sources can grant significant fitness benefits for animals, yet little is known about the mechanisms driving such phenomena, and the role of physiology is virtually unexplored in wild species. Two hypotheses predict opposing effects of physiological state on innovation success. On one hand, poor physiological condition may promote innovations by forcing individuals with poor competitive abilities to invent alternative solutions. On the other hand, superior physiological condition may ensure greater cognitive capacity and thereby better problem-solving and learning performance. To test these hypotheses, we studied the behavior of wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in 4 novel tasks of food acquisition, one of which was presented
to the birds in repeated trials, and we investigated the relationships of individual performance with relevant physiological traits. We found that problem-solving performance across the 4 tasks was moderately consistent within individuals. Birds with lower integrated levels of corticosterone, the main avian stress hormone, solved the most difficult task faster and were more efficient learners in
the repeated task than birds with higher corticosterone levels. Birds with higher concentration of total glutathione, a key antioxidant, solved 2 relatively easy tasks faster, whereas birds with fewer coccidian parasites tended to solve the difficult task more quickly. Our results, thus, indicate that aspects of physiological state influence problem-solving performance in a context-dependent manner, and these effects on problem-solving capacity, probably including cognitive abilities, are more likely to drive individual innovation success than necessity due to poor condition.
LA  - English
DB  - MTMT
ER  -