The social interactions Western Australian magpies experience in their first year of life affects their intelligence, according to a new study.
Dr Lizzie Speechley, from The University of Western Australia's School of Biological Sciences, was lead author of the study published in Ecology and Evolution.
Researchers investigated the relationship between individual cognitive performance and social network connectedness – measured through play, aggressive and vocal interactions and physical proximity.
Magpies located in urban environments around Perth were tested in an associative learning task at three developmentally sensitive time points during their first year of life.
The testing time periods corresponded to key developmental milestones: at 100 days after leaving the nest when individuals start foraging independently and therefore can engage in cognitive tasks; at 200 days post-fledging when most stop being fed by other group members; and 300 days post-fledging when the magpies transition into the juvenile stage of development.
The study found that magpies who were more connected in their social networks solved the associative learning task in fewer trials at 300 days post-fledging.
However, the relationship between sociality and cognition differed depending on the specific type of social interaction explored.
"Individuals that responded to calls from more group members performed better in cognitive tests," Dr Speechley said.
"Similarly, we found individuals that were the target of aggressive behaviour by more group members also performed better in cognitive tests at one year of age."
The study concluded that cognitive development was related to specific social interactions within the group, notably vocal and aggressive interactions.
"The findings highlight the importance of the social environment during early life to the development of cognitive skills," Dr Speechley said.
