COCOR

Cooperation in Corvids (COCOR) is a Collaborative Research Project (CRP) in the framework of the ESF -EUROCORES-programme TECT (The Evolution of Cooperation and Trading) . The aim of the project is to understand cooperation in group-living animals. We use the corvids (ravens, crows, rooks, jackdaws, jays and magpies) for in-depth observational and experimental studies of single species as well as for comparative research. Our consortium includes most European research groups working on corvids as well as partners from North-America. Our emphasis is on the cognitive processes implicated in cooperation. Corvid brains can be compared to primate brains in relative size and complexity. Similar cooperation experiments as has been done with primates can therefore be repeated with corvids. Comparative research within the corvids as well as between corvids and primates is possible, because of the high diversity of social organizations (monogamous pairs, cooperative breeders, small and large colonies). The consortium follows two different approaches to the modelling of cooperative behaviour: the economists use agent-based modelling and game theory, and our artificial intelligence group will use robots as embodies agents to simulate cooperation among group-living animals.