Evolutionary Diversification of New Caledonian Araucaria

Evolutionary Diversification of New Caledonian Araucaria

New Caledonia is a global biodiversity hotspot. Hypotheses for its biotic richness suggest either that the island is a 'museum' for an old Gondwana biota or alternatively it has developed following relatively recent long distance dispersal and in situ radiation. The conifer genus Araucaria (Araucariaceae) comprises 19 species globally with 13 endemic to this island. With a typically Gondwanan d...

Diversification and cumulative evolution in New Caledonian crow tool manufacture.

Many animals use tools but only humans are generally considered to have the cognitive sophistication required for cumulative technological evolution. Three important characteristics of cumulative technological evolution are: (i) the diversification of tool design; (ii) cumulative change; and (iii) high-fidelity social transmission. We present evidence that crows have diversified and cumulativel...

How New Caledonian crows solve

16 New Caledonian crows make and use tools and tool types vary over geographic landscapes. Social 17 learning may explain the variation in tool design, but it is unknown to what degree social learning 18 accounts for the maintenance of these designs. Indeed, little is known about the mechanisms these 19 crows use to obtain information from others, despite the question’s importance in understand...

The social structure of New Caledonian crows

On the evolutionary and ontogenetic origins of tool-oriented behaviour in New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides).

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are prolific tool users in captivity and in the wild, and have an inherited predisposition to express tool-oriented behaviours. To further understand the evolution and development of tool use, we compared the development of object manipulation in New Caledonian crows and common ravens (Corvus corax), which do not routinely use tools. We found striking ...