Klump Barbara C, Walter David, Martin John M, Aplin Lucy M
Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell am Bodensee, Germany.
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Biol Lett. 2025 Jun;21(6):20250010. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0010. Epub 2025 Jun 4.
The spread of innovation has been proposed as a potentially important source of adaptive behavioural responses to anthropogenic change. Yet, while a diversity of urban innovations have been documented in animals, there are relatively few examples of these spreading to form local traditions. One notable example is the 'bin-opening innovation' in sulphur-crested cockatoos (), where individuals open household bin lids to access food waste, with this behaviour spreading across southern Sydney, Australia. Here, we describe a second innovation in this species, the 'drinking-fountain innovation'. Individuals from a population in western Sydney drink from twist-handle public drinking fountains, with this behaviour persisting over at least 2 years. Successful operation requires a coordinated sequence of actions, with only 41% of observed attempts ending in success. Intensive observation at one drinking fountain over 44 days revealed 525 attempts and 46% of marked individuals successfully engaging in the behaviour, with individuals visiting at dawn and dusk in line with expectations for use of a water resource. Public drinking fountains vary in design between local councils but are generally widespread. Yet, to our knowledge, this behaviour has not been observed elsewhere. Altogether, this suggests that this drinking innovation has spread to form a new urban-adapted local tradition.
创新的传播被认为是对人为变化的适应性行为反应的一个潜在重要来源。然而，虽然在动物身上已经记录了各种各样的城市创新，但这些创新传播形成当地传统的例子相对较少。一个显著的例子是硫冠凤头鹦鹉的“开垃圾桶创新”，即个体打开家用垃圾桶盖获取食物残渣，这种行为在澳大利亚悉尼南部传播开来。在此，我们描述该物种的第二项创新——“饮水器创新”。悉尼西部一个种群的个体从带旋转把手的公共饮水器喝水，这种行为持续了至少两年。成功操作需要一系列协调的动作，观察到的尝试中只有41%最终成功。在一个饮水器上进行了44天的密集观察，发现了525次尝试，46%的有标记个体成功做出了这种行为，个体在黎明和黄昏时前来，符合对水资源使用的预期。地方议会之间公共饮水器的设计各不相同，但普遍存在。然而，据我们所知，这种行为在其他地方尚未被观察到。总的来说，这表明这种饮水创新已经传播开来，形成了一种新的适应城市的当地传统。
