ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7143-7777
Current Organisation
James Cook University
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Publisher: Chelonian Conservation and Biology Journal
Date: 08-11-2021
DOI: 10.2744/CCB-1475.1
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-09-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S00265-020-02897-Y
Abstract: Inhibitory control, the inhibition of prepotent actions, is essential for higher-order cognitive processes such as planning, reasoning, and self-regulation. In iduals and species differ in inhibitory control. Identifying what influences inhibitory control ability within and between species is key to understanding how it evolved. We compared performance in the cylinder task across five lizard species: tree skinks ( Egernia striolata ), gidgee skinks ( Egernia stokesii ), eastern blue-tongue skinks ( Tiliqua s. scincoides ), sleepy lizards ( Tiliqua r. asper ), and eastern water skinks ( Eul rus quoyii ). In our task, animals had to inhibit the prepotent motor response of directly approaching a reward placed within a semi-transparent mesh cylinder and instead reach in through the side openings. Additionally, in three lizard species, we compared performance in the cylinder task to reversal learning to determine the task specificity of inhibitory ability. Within species, neither sex, origin, body condition, neophobia, nor pre-experience with other cognitive tests affected in idual performance. Species differed in motor response inhibition: Blue-tongue skinks made fewer contacts with the semi-transparent cylinder wall than all other species. Blue-tongue skinks also had lower body condition than the other species which suggest motivation as the underlying cause for species differences in task performance. Moreover, we found no correlation between inhibitory ability across different experiments. This is the first study comparing cylinder task performance among lizard species. Given that inhibitory control is probably widespread in lizards, motor response inhibition as exercised in the cylinder task appears to have a long evolutionary history and is likely fundamental to survival and fitness. The study of lizard cognition is receiving increasing attention. Lizards are a erse group with a wide range of ecological attributes and represent a model system through which we can test a wide range of hypotheses relating to cognitive evolution. Furthermore, considering their evolutionary history, studying non-avian reptile cognition can help understand the evolution of different cognitive abilities including inhibitory control. Here, we provide a comparison of inhibitory control ability in five lizard species. Consequently, we are able to, firstly, validate a method (the cylinder task) initially developed for the use in mammals and birds, for use in lizards, and secondly, collect valuable data on inhibitory control in a poorly studied group with respect to cognitive ability. Our study suggests non-cognitive factors as a major influence on cylinder task performance, which is in agreement with previous studies of other vertebrates.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-05-2023
Publisher: Firenze University Press
Date: 11-2021
DOI: 10.36253/A_H-11502
Abstract: Photo-identification is a non-invasive option for mark-recapture. Here, we tested the effectiveness of APHIS, a semi-automated photo-identification software, to distinguish between in idual Bahamian Racers (Cubophis vudii vudii) on the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Over 10 months, we photographed 50 Bahamian Racers. We first identified in iduals by manually comparing colouration and scale patterns in the pileus and labial regions. Next, we used APHIS to identify recaptured in iduals after manually identifying the locations of intersections of the scales in the pileus and labial regions. In addition, we assessed whether images taken with a hand-held camera or by a smart phone affected the accuracy of APHIS. All recaptured snakes were correctly identified using APHIS from both camera or phone images as validated by our manually derived results. We conclude that APHIS is an effective tool for photo-identification in snakes.
Publisher: British Herpetological Society
Date: 31-12-2019
DOI: 10.33256/HB150.3940
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2023
No related grants have been discovered for Sebastian Hoefer.