Pet rodents display more intelligence than their wild relatives, probably as a result of living with us, according to a new study in the journal Frontiers in Zoology.
The finding is surprising because domestication has actually reduced the brain size of some rodents, such as domesticated guinea pigs, which were the main focus of the study.
Lars Lewejohann and a team of researchers from the University of Münster, Germany, tested how well domesticated guinea pigs and wild cavies could navigate through a water maze. Although both groups performed well, domesticated animals were found to be superior.
Wild
(Credit: Petra Karstedt)
Versus
Mild
(Wikimedia Commons)
“Both wild and domestic guinea pigs were able to learn the water maze task," Lewejohann said. "Interestingly, it seems that domesticated animals had the advantage in spatial orientation, while wild cavies were the stronger swimmers. This suggests an adaptation to the man-made environment in domesticated animals that allows more efficient problem solving."
Participants in the study included 15 male domestic guinea pigs, 13 female domestic guinea pigs, 13 male cavies, and 13 female cavies.
All had to find a platform hidden under the surface of a circular pool of water using symbols on the walls of the tank for guidance. While the wild animals were impressive swimmers, the domestic guinea pigs aced deciphering the guidance symbols and using them to swim straight to the target area.
Lewejohann concluded, “Overall, our findings indicate that these animals will be suitable for further investigations of learning and memory."
Tags: Animal Behavior, Animals, Mammals
comments ( )