Department Equine Economics, Faculty Agriculture, Economics and Management, Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Nürtingen, Germany.
Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
PLoS One. 2021 Sep 27;16(9):e0257730. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257730. eCollection 2021.
Debate persists over whether animals develop innovative solutions primarily in response to needs or conversely whether they innovate more when basic needs are covered and opportunity to develop novel behaviour is offered. We sourced 746 cases of "unusual" behaviour in equids by contacting equid owners and caretakers directly and via a website (https://innovative-behaviour.org), and by searching the internet platforms YouTube and Facebook for videos. The study investigated whether differences in need or opportunity for innovation were reflected in the numbers of different types of innovations and in the frequencies of repeating a once-innovative behaviour (i) with respect to the equids' sex, age, and breed type, (ii) across behavioural categories, and whether (iii) they were affected by the equids' management (single vs group housing, access to roughage feed, access to pasture, and social contact). We found that the numbers of different types of innovation and the frequency of displaying specific innovations were not affected by individual characteristics (sex, age, breed or equid species). Few types of innovation in escape and foraging contexts were observed, whilst the comfort, play, and social contexts elicited the greatest variety of innovations. We also found higher numbers of different types of innovations in horses kept in groups rather than in individual housing, and with unlimited rather than with restricted access to pasture and roughage. Equids in permanent social contact performed high rates of once-innovative behaviour. We suggest that equids produce goal-directed innovations and repeat the behaviour at high frequency in response to urgent needs for food and free movement or when kept in conditions with social conflict. However, equids devise the greatest variety of innovations when opportunity to play and to develop comfort behaviour arises and when kept in good conditions.
关于动物是主要为满足需求而开发创新解决方案，还是在满足基本需求并提供开发新行为的机会时更具创新性，一直存在争议。我们通过直接联系马的主人和看护者以及通过网站（https://innovative-behaviour.org），并通过在 YouTube 和 Facebook 等互联网平台上搜索视频，收集了 746 个马属动物“异常”行为的案例。该研究调查了创新的需求或机会的差异是否反映在不同类型的创新数量和重复一次创新行为的频率上（i）与马的性别、年龄和品种类型有关，（ii）跨行为类别，以及（iii）它们是否受到马的管理（单养或群养、粗饲料喂养、放牧和社会接触）的影响。我们发现，不同类型的创新数量和特定创新行为的频率不受个体特征（性别、年龄、品种或马种）的影响。在逃避和觅食环境中观察到的创新类型很少，而在舒适、玩耍和社会环境中则产生了最大的创新多样性。我们还发现，在群体中饲养而不是单独饲养的马，以及无限制而不是限制进入牧场和粗饲料的马，具有更多种类的创新。与永久社会接触的马表现出更高的一次性创新行为率。我们认为，马属动物会产生有目标导向的创新行为，并在感到食物和自由移动的迫切需求或处于存在社会冲突的环境中，高频次地重复该行为。然而，当有机会玩耍和发展舒适行为以及处于良好的条件下时，马属动物会产生最大的创新多样性。
