Excellence Award in the Behavioral Category 🏆
Eckerd College Undergraduate Research Symposium 2022
Kayla Fulkerson1, Madeline Ketner1,2 Olivia Minney1,3,
Dr. Lauren Highfill1,2, Kristina Przystawilk4,
Christi Reiter4, and Mike Burns4
1Animal Studies Discipline, 2Psychology Discipline,, 3Biology Discipline, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida 33711
4ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Tampa, Florida 33604
Abstract
Social behaviors between animals have been widely documented in the wild and in managed care facilities. Specifically, several species have demonstrated the ability to cooperate with conspecifics in a lab or zoo setting. The current study sought to replicate a study previously conducted with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in which pairs of elephants had to cooperatively pull on two ends of a rope in order to bring food rewards within reach. The initial study was conducted in a free contact setting, whereas the current study was conducted under a protected contact management program with ZooTampa’s herd of 6 elephants. Overall, 15 different pairings were tested on the rope-pulling cooperative task, while being released simultaneously. Trials were deemed successful if the sled was pulled to a distance where both elephants were able to claim food that was resting on the sled. Results suggest that overall, the majority of pairings quickly learned that a form of cooperation was necessary to successfully complete the task. Through analysis of 3 sessions of 10 trials, each pairing reached the criterion for p<.05. Researchers noted the individual modification of strategies, depending on the elephant, in order to most effectively complete the task. After initial trials were complete, trials were run with a staggered start time to assess the elephant’s understanding of the role of their partner. Further research in the field of comparative cognition is required, especially to gain a better understanding of cooperation in often understudied species.
5 of the 6 elephants forming the herd at ZooTampa, out on habitat.