Fitness Consequences of Innovation in Spotted Hyenas

Abstract

Innovation is a well-studied cognitive phenomenon related to general intelligence and brain size. Innovative ability varies considerably within species and it is widely assumed that this variation must have important fitness consequences. However, direct evidence for a link between innovative ability and fitness has rarely been shown. Previous research examined variation in innovative problem-solving in wild spotted hyenas when confronting a novel puzzle box baited with meat. The earlier work revealed that variation in innovativeness in spotted hyenas was not related to age, sex, or social rank, but was predicted by neophobia, persistence, and diversity of motor responses to the puzzle. Here, we used the same dataset from wild spotted hyenas to investigate potential links between innovativeness and fitness. We found that innovative hyenas had lower offspring survivorship than non-innovators, but higher annual cub production (ACP). To test the hypothesis that high ACP can compensate for low offspring survival, we also measured annual cub survivorship (ACS) counting only offspring that survived at least 1 year. Here, there was no significant difference between innovators and non-innovators, which suggests that higher ACP does compensate for lower offspring survival, at least to 1 year of age. Overall, our data suggest that innovativeness may have both costs and benefits for fitness in wild spotted hyenas.