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28 May 2024 How to Tell More is More: Quantity Discrimination in Eastern Box Turtles (Emydidae: Terrapene carolina)
Taylor L. Cooper, Juanita Pardo-Sanchez, Meghan J. Sosnowski, Savannah Tello Rodriguez, Meera S. Spencer, Sarah F. Brosnan, Joseph R. Mendelson III
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Abstract

Quantity assessment may strongly influence decision-making related to feeding and other aspects of natural history in diverse organisms, but because many quantitative cues covary, it can be difficult to discern what information is specifically relied upon by the subject. Here we manipulate two quantitative cues, numerosity and total length, to examine juvenile Eastern Box Turtles' (Terrapene carolina; Emydidae) preference for discrete numerical information when a greater number of food items corresponds to more, equal, or less food. Our results suggest that box turtles may consider numerosity as a cue in quantity discrimination but have difficulty incorporating conflicting information to make the optimal choice when the greater number of food items does not contain the greatest quantity of food. Our study adds to a relatively sparse area of cognitive testing among nonavian reptiles. Filling the knowledge gap in this species-rich group will allow for broader phylogenetic comparison in the evolution of quantitative abilities.

Taylor L. Cooper, Juanita Pardo-Sanchez, Meghan J. Sosnowski, Savannah Tello Rodriguez, Meera S. Spencer, Sarah F. Brosnan, and Joseph R. Mendelson III "How to Tell More is More: Quantity Discrimination in Eastern Box Turtles (Emydidae: Terrapene carolina)," Journal of Herpetology 58(1), 1-15, (28 May 2024). https://doi.org/10.1670/23-018
Accepted: 8 November 2023; Published: 28 May 2024
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