The study demonstrated that for wild mountain chickadees, survival is less about brain size or reversal learning and more about their ability to remember the locations of their cached food. Chickadees need a good memory to thrive in an environment where failure to retrieve cached food can lead to death due to starvation.
Vladimir Pravosudov, a senior co-author, emphasized the importance of spatial memory: 'Chickadees cache one food item in one location, and they do this across a big area... If they don't eat for a few hours, they die.' Their cognitive skill in retrieving food caches is critical for survival.
The research led by Joseph Welklin highlighted the unique approach in studying cognitive skills in wild populations, stating that traditional measures like brain size or lab tests did not correlate with survival in chickadees. This study showcases the importance of practical cognitive abilities over simple intelligence measures.
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