Robust retention and transfer of tool construction techniques in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Vale, G.; Flynn, E.; Pender, L.; Price, E.; Whiten, A.; Lambeth, P.; Schapiro, S.; Kendal, R.

Abstract

Long-term memory can be critical to a species’ survival in environments with seasonal and even longer-term cycles of resource availability. The present, longitudinal study investigated whether complex tool behaviors used to gain an out-of-reach reward, following a hiatus of about 3 years and 7 months since initial experiences with a tool use task, were retained and subsequently executed more quickly by experienced than by naïve chimpanzees. Ten of the 11 retested chimpanzees displayed impressive long-term procedural memory, creating elongated tools using the same methods employed years previously, either combining 2 tools or extending a single tool. The complex tool behaviors were also transferred to a different task context, showing behavioral flexibility. This represents some of the first evidence for appreciable long-term procedural memory, and improvements in the utility of complex tool manufacture in chimpanzees. Such long-term procedural memory and behavioral flexibility have important implications for the longevity and transmission of behavioral traditions.

Citation

Vale, G., Flynn, E., Pender, L., Price, E., Whiten, A., Lambeth, P., …Kendal, R. (2016). Robust retention and transfer of tool construction techniques in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 130(1), 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040000

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 10, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Feb 1, 2016
• Publication Date: Feb 10, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 10, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 11, 2015
• Journal: Journal of Comparative Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0735-7036
• Electronic ISSN: 1939-2087
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 130
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 24-35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040000
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1432054