The “House of Knowledge” is like a collection of stories. Beautiful stories that tell the living in all its freshness. But also, in all its complexities. Arch to marvel at the world’s treasures. In this new episode, let’s broaden our horizons. To ask us if global warming could have an effect on animal intelligence.
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[EN VIDÉO] Animal intelligence: The elephant will be aware of its body An Asian elephant brilliantly passed an IQ test that a 2-year-old failed: You can’t pull a rug if you wear it. The experiment, conducted by Think Elephants International, showed that the elephant perceives its own body, and a mirror test also shows. A rare ability in the animal world.
Hibernation has been delayed. Staggered reproductive periods. Migration has been turned upside down. Sizes and weights have changed. Many of Cash Animals are threatened by global warming. Scientists fear that the rise in temperatures, in particular, is now too fast to tolerate wild animals S’y adapter.
Beside that Koala, From’Polar bear Or the Adélie penguin who, although incredibly cute, may seem distant to us, think, for example, of the charming ladybug that helps us fight aphid invasions. What would happen if it was too strong the heat It prevented them from hibernating even though they could not find enough food duringwinter ? Same for our friend the hedgehog who is devouring harmful Of all species, which are already in danger of disappearing.
Today, it looks like the image wants to darken a little more. Because researchers point out that Global Warming It can have an effect on knowledge Animal. By perception we mean all the mental mechanisms that allow individuals to process information from their environment, react accordingly and modify their behaviors in a flexible way. In other words, it is perhaps a major factor that could allow this Animals to adapt Climate change.
We have all tested it before. Read and reread the same passage from a novel while Soleil It patted us: When it’s very hot, concentration is more difficult. Research confirms this. The StressThermocouple has an acknowledged negative effect on Intellectual capabilities . Learning performance, for example, decreases as the number of hot school days increases.
Are wild animals affected like others?
So the same applies to other animals that live on our land. Well, for almost everyone. Because for some, researchers have observed greater heat tolerance. Sometimes an increase in temperature enhances cognitive function by speeding up the rate of biochemical processes. But in general, learning, memory and decision-making are all altered when the temperature rises above normal.
Here is the female DiamondMandarin we already talked about in a previous episode, to mention its stiff ear, for example. Well, imagine that when the temperature rises above 41 degrees Celsius, Madame struggles to recognize calls to marry men of this nature. She confuses them with others. However, 41 ° C is the temperature that is now commonly felt during heat waves, in particular.
Among the geckos, these funny lizards with Sticky paws However, renowned for its adaptability, researchers have observed difficulties in learning the location of a shelter or even in survival in individuals who were born after incubation at a high temperature. This indicates that the heat waves that occur during reproduction could affect the cognitive abilities of an entire generation.
However, researchers soften these conclusions. Because the vast majority of their studies today still focus on captive animals, which live in controlled environments. Therefore, the hope remains that wildlife will have a greater capacity to adapt to global warming. To learn and then make effective decisions Thing Wildlife management, there is no other solution but to conduct field studies. The wild animalsWill they be able to show themselves … not that stupid?
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