% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3595300,
title = {{Evidence of object permanence, short-term spatial memory, causality, understanding of object properties and gravity across five different ungulate species}},
author = {Schaffer, Alina and Widdig, Anja and Holland, Ruben and Amici, Federica},
language = {eng},
issn = {2045-2322},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-024-64396-8},
year = {2024},
abstract = {{In their natural environment, animals face a variety of ecological and social challenges, which might {\textless}br{\textgreater}be linked to the emergence of different cognitive skills. To assess inter{-}specific variation in cognitive {\textless}br{\textgreater}skills, we used ungulates as a study model, testing a total of 26 captive individuals across 5 different {\textless}br{\textgreater}species (i.e., dwarf goats, Capra aegagrus hircus, llamas, Lama glama, guanacos, Lama guanicoe, {\textless}br{\textgreater}zebras, Equus grevyi, and rhinos, Diceros bicornis michaeli). Across species, we used the same well{-}{\textless}br{\textgreater}established experimental procedures to test individuals{\textquoteright} performance in na{\"\i}ve physics tasks, i.e. {\textless}br{\textgreater}object permanence, short{-}term spatial memory, causality, understanding of object properties, and {\textless}br{\textgreater}gravity. Our results revealed that study subjects showed object permanence, were able to remember {\textless}br{\textgreater}the position of hidden food after up to 60 s, and inferred the position of hidden food from the sound {\textless}br{\textgreater}produced or not produced when shaking containers. Moreover, they showed an understanding of {\textless}br{\textgreater}basic object properties, being able to locate objects hidden behind occluders based on their size {\textless}br{\textgreater}and inclination, and could reliably follow the trajectory of falling objects across different conditions. {\textless}br{\textgreater}Finally, inter{-}specific differences were limited to the understanding of object properties, and {\textless}br{\textgreater}suggest that domesticated species as goats might perform better than non{-}domesticated ones in {\textless}br{\textgreater}tasks requiring these skills. These results provide new information on the cognitive skills of a still {\textless}br{\textgreater}understudied taxon and confirm ungulates as a promising taxon for the comparative study of cognitive {\textless}br{\textgreater}evolution.}},
journal = {{Scientific Reports}},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
eid = {13718},
}