Author:
ManyPrimates ,Aguenounon Géraud,Allritz Matthias,Altschul Drew,Ballesta Sébastien,Beaud Alice,Bohn Manuel,Bornbusch Sally,Brandão Angela,Brooks James,Bugnyar Thomas,Burkart Judith,Bustamante Léa,Call Josep,Canteloup Charlotte,Cao Chuangshi,Caspar Kai,da Silva Diana,de Sousa Alexandra,DeTroy Sarah,Duguid Shona,Eppley Timothy,Fichtel Claudia,Fischer Julia,Gong Chi,Grange James,Grebe Nicholas,Hanus Daniel,Haun Daniel,Haux Lou,Héjja-Brichard Yseult,Helman Annabella,Hernadi Istvan,Hernandez-Aguilar R. Adriana,Herrmann Esther,Hopper Lydia,Howard Lauren,Huang Lei,Huskisson Sarah,Jacobs Ivo,Jin Zhiyong,Joly Marine,Kano Fumihiro,Keupp Stefanie,Kiefer Evelin,Knakker Balázs,Kóczán Katalin,Kraus Larissa,Kwok Sze Chai,Lefrançois Marie,Lewis Laura,Liu Siyi,Llorente Miquel,Lonsdorf Elizabeth,Loyant Louise,Majecka Katarzyna,Maurits Luke,Meunier Hélène,Mobili Flávia,Morino Luca,Motes-Rodrigo Alba,Nijman Vincent,Ihomi Caroline,Persson Tomas,Pietraszewski Dariusz,Reátiga Parrish Juan,Roig Anthony,Sánchez-Amaro Alejandro,Sato Yutaro,Sauciuc Gabriela-Alina,Schrock Allie,Schweinfurth Manon,Seed Amanda,Shearer Caroline,Šlipogor Vedrana,Su Yanjie,Sutherland Kirsten,Tan Jingzhi,Taylor Derry,Troisi Camille,Völter Christoph,Warren Elizabeth,Watzek Julia,Zablocki-Thomas Pauline
Abstract
Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory, we tested the largest and most diverse primate sample to date (421 non-human primates across 41 species) in an experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. Overall, individuals in the branch of Hominoidea performed better compared to Cercopithecoidea, who in turn performed above Platyrrhini and Strepsirrhini. Interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species presented an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of short-term memory capacity. However, this study offers an important step forward in understanding the interspecies and individual variation in short-term memory ability by providing the first phylogenetic reconstruction of this trait’s evolutionary history. The dataset constitutes a unique resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition and the role of short-term memory in other cognitive abilities.
Publisher
Animal Behavior and Cognition