Madden Joah Robert, Ellis Samuel, Lens Luc, Verbruggen Frederick
Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK.
Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2025 Jun 26;380(1929):20240118. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0118.
Recent efforts to understand the evolution of cognition have adopted a within-species approach where cognitive performance, and its effects on behaviour, is correlated with fitness benefits and, if related, is assumed to be selected for. We reviewed 45 studies taking this approach, involving 26 species and describing 211 relationships between behavioural measures of cognition and fitness, to explore broader patterns underlying the evolution of cognition. First, we explored patterns in the strength and direction of selection. We found generally weak support for a relationship between cognition and fitness, with >70% of raw published relationships being statistically non-significant, with an even smaller likelihood once co-variates were accounted for. Where significant relationships were found, they were predominantly, but not exclusively, positive, with individuals exhibiting faster learning or more accurate memory also displaying greater (proxy) fitness. Second, we tested how selection might act under different circumstances. A relationship with fitness was more likely when general, rather than specific cognitive entities were considered, and when the fitness measure corresponded to survival rather than reproductive output. Consequently, the study of within-species cognitive evolution remains in its early stages, with evidence that is both incomplete and inconclusive. However, it potentially offers a powerful opportunity to explore the structure of cognition, trade-offs, constraints and the way that it links to behaviours.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Selection shapes diverse animal minds'.
近期为理解认知进化所做的努力采用了种内研究方法，即认知表现及其对行为的影响与适应性益处相关联，若存在关联，则假定其是被选择的对象。我们回顾了采用此方法的45项研究，涉及26个物种，描述了认知行为测量与适应性之间的211种关系，以探究认知进化背后更广泛的模式。首先，我们探究了选择的强度和方向模式。我们发现，认知与适应性之间的关系总体上支持力度较弱，已发表的原始关系中有超过70%在统计学上不显著，考虑协变量后，显著的可能性更小。在发现显著关系的地方，它们主要（但并非唯一）是正向的，表现出更快学习速度或更准确记忆的个体也表现出更高的（替代）适应性。其次，我们测试了选择在不同情况下可能如何起作用。当考虑的是一般认知实体而非特定认知实体时，以及当适应性测量对应于生存而非繁殖产出时，与适应性的关系更有可能出现。因此，种内认知进化的研究仍处于早期阶段，证据既不完整也无定论。然而，它可能提供了一个强大的机会来探索认知的结构、权衡、限制以及它与行为的联系方式。本文是西奥·墨菲会议议题“选择塑造多样的动物思维”的一部分。
