Recent and relevant papers– July 23, 2014

Niche-specific cognitive strategies: object memory interferes with spatial memory in the predatory bat, Myotis nattereri (Journal of Experimental Biology)– Fruit and flower bats tend to use spatial memory over shape because those foods don’t move. But insect-eating bats tend to do the opposite, perhaps because insects have distinct shapes and don’t stay still.

Maternal lineages best explain the associations of a semisocial marsupial (Behavioral Ecology)–kin selection in brushtail possums

Frugivorous bats evaluate the quality of social information when choosing novel foods (Behavioral Ecology)– Tent-making bats copy the foods found on other bats’ breath rather than others’ fur

Roosting behavior and group decision making in 2 syntopic bat species with fission–fusion societies (Behavioral Ecology) — “In a field experiment where we created a conflict of interests among colony members where to roost, brown long-eared bats always achieved a colony-wide consensus about communal roosts. On the contrary, in Bechstein’s bats, individuals with conflicting interests often formed subgroups in different roosts according to their individual interests instead of reaching a consensus on a single communal roost. ”

The dynamics of sperm cooperation in a competitive environment (Proceedings B)– sperm cooperation differs depending on sperm competition

Friendship and natural selection (PNAS) genetic similarity between unrelated friends versus unrelated strangers in large human samples

A functional role of the sky’s polarization pattern for orientation in the greater mouse-eared bat (Nature Communications)– bats use polarized light to set their compass

Partner switching can favour cooperation in a biological market (Journal of Evolutionary Biology)– partner switching in house sparrows and effects on fitness

Group augmentation and the evolution of cooperation (TREE) Do cooperative breeders try to increase the size of their own groups?

In August, I will be speaking at APA Convention in DC and the Animal Behavior Meetings in Princeton, NJ. Then off to Panama.