PSGB Spring Meeting 2013 - Meetings

Tue, 2 Apr 2013 - 1.30 pm

The annual spring meeting will be held on the 2nd and 3rd April at the University of Lincoln. The general theme of the meeting is 'Primates and Beyond: Comparative Socio-Ecology and Cognition' but papers are welcome on any topic and from both established researchers and students.

Research on animal cognition and behavioural ecology is growing at high speed every year. At the same time, the separation between students of primates and other animals has become increasingly evident with different conferences and dedicated journals. Traditionally, it has often been assumed that non-human primates are closer to humans than to any other animal species in terms of cognitive capacities and social complexity. This view has sometimes led to the idea that scientists working with primates and with other animals somehow speak a different ‘language’ and have limited shared interests. However, research on apes, birds, cetaceans and dogs is showing that distantly related species may share similar cognitive skills and social complexity.

This conference aims to bring together scientists and students working on different topics and with different animal species. For this reason, we have invited three guest speakers who use different analytical approaches (i.e. lab, field, experiment-based or observational), on a range of species (from fish and reptiles to primates) and focus on different behavioural and physiological processes.

Lincoln is a historic city with the Cathedral sitting majestically atop ‘Steep Hill’. The local heritage dates back to Roman times with many sites available to visit for free. Lincoln Castle, next to the cathedral, was built in 1068 by William the Conqueror and is one of the many attractions of the city. For more information on Lincoln click here.

Confirmed guest speakers:

Prof. Kevin N. Laland (School of Biology, University of St. Andrews)

Title: Animal Social Learning and the Evolution of Culture

Both demographically and ecologically, humans are a remarkably successful species. This success is generally attributed to our capacity for culture. But how did our species’ extraordinary cultural capabilities evolve from its roots in animal social learning and tradition? In this seminar I will provide a provisional answer. After characterizing contemporary research into animal social learning, I will describe the findings of an international competition (the ‘social learning strategies tournament’) that I organized to investigate the best way to learn. I will suggest that the tournament sheds light on why copying is widespread in nature, and why humans happen to be so good at it. I will go on to describe some other theoretical and experimental projects suggesting feedback mechanisms that may have been instrumental to the evolution of culture. These include a comparative statistical analysis across primates that revealed that innovation and social learning frequencies co-vary positively with relative brain size, suggesting that these abilities were instrumental in driving the evolution of the large primate brain, a mathematical model of the evolution of teaching, and an experimental study of the cognitive underpinnings of cumulative culture, in children, chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys.

Prof. Julia Ostner (Primate Social Evolution Group, Courant Research Centre Evolution of Social Behaviour, Georg-August University Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077, Germany)

Title: Sociality and cooperation in male primates

A growing body of evidence suggests that forming close and stable social relationships increases an animal’s fitness in terms of increased reproductive rates, infant survival and even longevity. Most of the evidence comes from females forming close relationships with other, often related, females. The regular exchange of cooperative interactions and the existence of strong and differentiated social bonds are, however, unexpected in the absence of kin selection and in dispersing individuals where the opportunity for reciprocation is reduced. Yet the quality of social relationships among male primates, often the dispersing sex, ranges from aversive, intolerant, and highly competitive to highly affiliative and cooperative. I will draw on current findings from our research on male macaques forming close bonds for future cooperation, engaging in mutually beneficial coalitions, reciprocating benefits over extended time periods, and engaging in conflict management despite a considerable degree of competition to highlight that male sociality is far more similar to female social relationships than previously thought. I will present the first sketches of a predictive framework for the evolution of male social relationships and cooperation.

Anna Wilkinson (School of Biological Sciences, University of Lincoln)

Title: Cold-blooded cognition: What can studying reptiles tell us about primate cognition?

Reptiles and mammals evolved from a common amniotic ancestor and may share behavioural traits and capabilities. Equally, since this ancestor lived around 280 million years ago, there is ample time for evolutionary paths to have diverged and for quite different capacities and mechanisms to have evolved. Therefore, examination of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the behaviour of reptiles can provide crucial information about the evolution of the brain. This talk will present some recent research on the learning and memory abilities of reptiles and compare them to what is known about these processes in primates and other mammals.

The deadline for abstract submission (250 words) for a poster/oral presentation is March the 10th at midnight.

Early registration fees (before March 26th):
Student member - £25
Student non-PSGB member - £40
PSGB member - £35
Non-PSGB member - £50

Late registration fees (from March 26th or at the conference):
Student member - £35
Student non-PSGB member - £50
PSGB member - £50
Non-PSGB member - £70