Projects per year
Abstract
The New Caledonian crow is the only non-human animal known to craft hooked tools in the wild, but the ecological benefit of these relatively complex tools remains unknown. Here, we show that crows acquire food several times faster when using hooked rather than non-hooked tools, regardless of tool material, prey type and extraction context. This implies that small changes to tool shape can strongly affect energy-intake rates, highlighting a powerful driver for technological advancement.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 441-444 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Nature Ecology and Evolution |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 22 Jan 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2018 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Hook innovation boosts foraging efficiency in tool-using crows'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Fellowship - The ecological cultural: The ecological cultural and cognitive context of tool use in New Caledonian crows
Rutz, C. (PI)
2/06/12 → 1/09/15
Project: Fellowship