Unlocking the Mysteries of Animal Behavior and Cognition

PeerJ Open Advances in Zoology prioritizes the publication of impactful research and meaningful commentary addressing the most pressing challenges to animal life now and into the future. Each submission will be evaluated not just for its scientific merit, but for its potential to address one of the journal’s “Global Challenges” – key questions in zoology that are defined and prioritized by the Editorial Board. In a series of blogs, we explore the journal’s Global Challenges, introducing the Associate Editors responsible for that Challenge and the questions it seeks to answer.

Advancing Understanding of the Functions and Mechanisms Underlying Animal Behavior and Cognition in Diverse Environments

Ethology is the study of animal behavior. It emerged as a distinct discipline thanks to the pioneering efforts of biologists such as Nikolaas Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz, and Karl von Frisch. In the 50+ years since the Nobel Prize was awarded to them in 1973, Tinbergen’s four fundamental questions for the study of animal behavior, questions of function and mechanism, remain pivotal to our understanding of the evolution and ontogeny of animal (including human) behavior and cognition.

Although novel methods for understanding the neurological and genetic underpinnings of behavior and cognition have furthered our understanding, many questions remain unaddressed. In particular, many species remain understudied, preventing a full appreciation of the various ecological factors (social and physical) that impact cognition, both evolutionarily and ontogenetically. Given the impact of humans on other species, studies of animal behavior today must address questions of how animals adapt to environments that (often) are intervened upon by humans and therefore must incorporate considerations of ethics, conservation, and welfare.

“Where did we come from? Where do we go? To know us better, it is important to know our evolutionary neighbors, nonhuman animals. In the 50+ years since the Nobel Prize to Tinbergen, Lorenz, and von Frisch, the study of animal cognition and behavior has progressed but many questions still remain unanswered.” Challenge Editor Prof. Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Chubu Gakuin University, Japan

Authors are encouraged to present work that identifies ultimate and proximate causation for the emergence of behavioral or cognitive traits at both the level of the species and the individual. Work on less commonly studied species will be especially valued.

Why this challenge matters now

The study of animal behavior and cognition has far-reaching impacts—not only in understanding the lives of animals themselves but in addressing broader ecological and conservation issues. As human activities continue to reshape ecosystems, knowing how animals adapt to rapidly changing environments is more urgent than ever.

“We have a lot of data on some select species but there are many fascinating species about which we know very little. This challenge will encourage a better understanding of the diversity of behavior and morphology and the many ecological niches that species have adapted to survive in.” Challenge Editor Prof. Jennifer Vonk, Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Michigan, USA

Topics

How can we infer cognitive states from observable behaviors?

Do we accumulate the knowledge of the entire life of long-living animals?

How can we broaden our coverage of species especially to non group living species?

Simultaneous recording of multiple individuals of group living species.

How can we broaden our consideration of ecological factors that may have shaped cognition?

How have socio-cultural factors shaped the behavior of non-human animals?

How have novel methodological techniques advanced our understanding of cognition?

Does artificial intelligence (or an automated system) help to record how animals interact with their environment, communicate, and carry out various activities?

Progress to synthesize the fieldwork and laboratory work of studying animal behavior.

Comparing the developmental process of cognition and behavior in different species.

How can we measure the neurobiological events that are at the bases of cognitive processes and consciousness? To what extent are they the same in different animal species?

“The global challenge will help make the study of behavior and cognition central to zoological sciences, as originally envisioned by Charles Darwin.” Challenge Editor Prof. Giorgio Vallortigara, Centre for Mind-Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Italy

Submit today!

If these questions resonate with your research, we invite you to submit your research to this Global Challenge. This is your opportunity to contribute to expanding our understanding of the world’s diverse species and their behaviors.