Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, No. 88, Tingzhou Road Section 4, Taipei, 116, Taiwan.
Anim Cogn. 2024 Mar 26;27(1):26. doi: 10.1007/s10071-024-01850-0.
Little is known about the behavioral and cognitive traits that best predict invasion success. Evidence is mounting that cognitive performance correlates with survival and fecundity, two pivotal factors for the successful establishment of invasive populations. We assessed the quantity discrimination ability of the globally invasive red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). We further compared it to that of the native stripe-necked turtle (Mauremys sinensis), which has been previously evaluated for its superior quantity discrimination ability. Specifically, our experimental designs aimed to quantify the learning ability as numerosity pairs increased in difficulty (termed fixed numerosity tests), and the immediate response when turtles were presented with varied challenges concurrently in the same tests (termed mixed numerosity tests). Our findings reaffirm the remarkable ability of freshwater turtles to discern numerical differences as close as 9 vs 10 (ratio = 0.9), which was comparable to the stripe-necked turtle's performance. However, the red-eared slider exhibited a moderate decrease in performance in high ratio tests, indicating a potentially enhanced cognitive capacity to adapt to novel challenges. Our experimental design is repeatable and is adaptable to a range of freshwater turtles. These findings emphasize the potential importance of cognitive research to the underlying mechanisms of successful species invasions.
关于最能预测入侵成功的行为和认知特征，人们知之甚少。越来越多的证据表明，认知表现与生存和繁殖力相关，这是成功建立入侵种群的两个关键因素。我们评估了全球入侵的红耳龟（Trachemys scripta elegans）的数量辨别能力。我们还将其与本土的条纹颈龟（Mauremys sinensis）进行了比较，条纹颈龟之前已经评估过其卓越的数量辨别能力。具体来说，我们的实验设计旨在量化随着难度增加而增加的数量对（称为固定数量测试）的学习能力，以及当海龟在同一测试中同时面临各种挑战时的即时反应（称为混合数量测试）。我们的研究结果再次证实了淡水龟能够辨别接近 9 对 10（比率=0.9）的差异的显著能力，这与条纹颈龟的表现相当。然而，红耳龟在高比率测试中的表现略有下降，表明其可能具有增强的认知能力以适应新的挑战。我们的实验设计是可重复的，并且适用于多种淡水龟。这些发现强调了认知研究对于成功物种入侵的潜在重要性。
