Abstract
In animals, high fission-fusion dynamics characterize groups in which individuals frequently split into subgroups of different size and composition, and may be linked to the enhancement of cognitive skills. However, this hypothesis has rarely been tested. Here, we compared two zebra species with different levels of fission-fusion dynamics, Chapman’s zebras (Equus burchelli chapmanni) and Grévy’s zebras (Equus grevyi), to assess potential differences in their cognitive skills. We tested 8 individuals of each species in experimental tasks assessing their object permanence, short-term memory, inference and quantity discrimination skills. Our results showed that Grévy’s zebras, which are characterized by higher levels of fission-fusion dynamics, performed better than Chapman’s zebras in tasks requiring inference and quantity discrimination skills. These findings provide preliminary support to the hypothesis that high fission-fusion dynamics are linked to the enhancement of specific cognitive skills also in taxa other than primates.