Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Friday, 26 March 2010
Tool Use In The Wild By New Caledonian Crows
Tool use in New Caledonian crows has been amply demonstrated in tool-provisioning experiments. There's also plenty of evidence of tool manufacture in the wild. This paper, from the UK group headed by Alex Kacelnik, of Oxford University, reports the first evidence (from them) of crows selecting appropriate stick and leaf tools to probe larva burrows in rotten wood in the wild, and successfully using them to obtain food. Juvenile performance was patchy, suggesting that both or either individual and social learning of fishing technique must go on. The results were obtained from many hours of action-triggered video footage at natural foraging sites.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Chimpanzee Culture Is Down To The Girls
It has long been observed that chimpanzee females have a stronger role to play in terms of maintenance and spread of cultural traits than males. Females use tools more frequently and are much more likely to be the teachers of juveniles. When they move to a new colony they may take a culture like a particular way to crack a nut with them. Here Johan Lind and Patrik Lindenfors show that the number of cultural traits in a colony correlates with the number of females but not males.