Cognition

Mission

The mongoose cognition project broadens the research aim - uncovering sources of individual variation in cognition wild mammals, by researching not only cognitive development in meerkats but also in the sympatric and facultative social yellow mongoose found in the Kalahari region. The project aims at quantifying socio-ecological influences on cognitive skill development. 





Main Research Questions

How does different social systems and social fluctuations impact skill learning and cognitive traits?

© Photo: Livio Flüeler

Findings So Far

In previous research we assessed explorative behaviours in mongooses through both an intra and interspecific view. We there showed that meerkats use multiple senses when gathering information about something novel, including visual, touch, and olfactory cues and that the kinds of cues emitted by novel stimulus thus affect their exploration behaviour. Between species analysis showed that yellow mongooses, a less social mongoose than meerkats, showed higher levels of novelty exploration, when tested within the same habitat. (Birchmeier & Johnson-Ulrich et al. 2023).

Collaborations