Simone Pika

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simone Susanne Pika (née Klein) is a German ethologist and primatologist investigating the evolution and development of language, cognition and plasticity by focusing on distinct model systems such as corvids, great apes, monkeys and dolphins.[1] Since 2017, she co-directs the Ozouga Chimpanzee Project,[2] Loango National Park in Gabon. She is a full professor at the Institute of Cognitive Science, Osnabrück University, Germany.[3]

Career[edit]

Since 2017, Pika is the head of the Comparative BioCognition group at the Institute of Cognitive Science, Osnabrück University, Germany.[1]

In 1992, Pika did her first ethological internship with Wolfgang Wickler at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology in Seewiesen, Germany. She studied biology at the Technical University Darmstadt and the University of Münster. Her specialization in ethology at the Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster and contact with Norbert Sachser led to a diploma thesis on the social behavior of three great ape species living in the Zürich Zoologischer Garten in collaboration with August A. Anzenberger and Bob Martin from the University of Zürich. From 2000 to 2003, Pika did her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, supervised by Michael Tomasello and Norbert Sachser. In her thesis, she investigated gestural communication in bonobos and gorillas in captivity. In 2006, she accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta in Canada to study gestural usage in bilingual humans.[4]

Research[edit]

Pika's research centers on the evolution and development of language, cognition and plasticity by focusing on model groups that are characterized by complex social relationships and networks. She uses a combination of methods of ethology, comparative psychology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence. Pika's work contributed to a better understanding of learning involved in gesture acquisition,[5] gesture forms,[6] referential use,[7][8] influence of experience and social matrices on communicative output.[9][10][11][12] species-specific communication styles,[13] use of conversational rules in communicative interactions,[14] tool-use and behavioral plasticity,[15][16] development and complexity of cognition,[17][18] inter-species aggression[19] and medical behavior.[20]

Awards[edit]

In 2010, Pika was awarded with the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.[21] In 2017, she received an EU-Consolidator grant (772000, TurnTaking)[22] of the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

Selected publications[edit]

  1. Mascaro, A., Southern, L. M., Deschner, T., & Pika, S. (2022). Application of insects to wounds of self and others by chimpanzees in the wild. Current Biology, 32, R97-R115. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.12.045
  2. Pika, S., Sima, M. J., Blum, C. R., Herrmann, E., & Mundry, R. (2020). Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills. Scientific Reports, 10(20617), 19. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77060-8
  3. Boesch, C., Kalan, A. K., Mundry, R., Arandjelovic, M., Pika, S., Dieguez, P., Ayimisin, E. A., Barciela, A., Coupland, C., Egbem, V. E., Eno-Nku, M., Fay, J. M., Fine, D., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Hermans, V., Kadam, P., Kambi, M., Llana, M., Maretti, G., ... Kühl, H. S. (2020). Chimpanzee ethnography reveals unexpected cultural diversity. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 910-916. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0890-1.
  4. Pika, S., & Deschner, T. (2019). A new window onto animal culture: The case of chimpanzee gesturing. Gesture, 18(2-3), 237-258. DOI: 10.1075/gest.19012.pik
  5. Pika, S., Klein, H., Bunel, S., Baas, P., Theleste, E., & Deschner, T. (2019). Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) exploit tortoises (Kinixys erosa) via percussive technology. Sci Rep, 9(1), 7661. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43301-8
  6. Pika, S., & Fröhlich, M. (2019). Gestural acquisition in great apes: The social negotiation hypothesis. Animal Cognition, 22(4), 551-565. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1159-6
  7. Pika, S., Wilkinson, R., Kendrick, K. H., & Vernes, S. C. (2018). Taking turns: Bridging the gap between human and animal communication. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 285(20180598), 9. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0598
  8. Prieur, J., Barbu, S., Blois-Heulin, C., & Pika, S. (2017). Captive gorillas' manual laterality: The impact of gestures, manipulators and interaction specificity. Brain and Language, 175, 130-145. DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2017.10.001
  9. Fröhlich, M., Kuchenbuch, P., Müller, G., Fruth, B., Furuichi, T., Wittig, R. M., & Pika, S. (2016). Unpeeling the layers of language: Bonobos and chimpanzees engage in cooperative turn-taking sequences. Scientific Reports, 6, 25887. DOI: 10.1038/srep25887
  10. Pika, S., & Mitani, J. C. (2006). Referential gestural communication in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Current Biology, 16(6), R191-R192. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.037

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Comparative BioCognition group".
  2. ^ "Ozouga Chimpanzee Project".
  3. ^ "Institute of Cognitive Science, Osnabrück University".
  4. ^ "CV Pika" (PDF).
  5. ^ Pika, Simone; Fröhlich, Marlen (July 2019). "Gestural acquisition in great apes: the Social Negotiation Hypothesis". Animal Cognition. 22 (4): 551–565. doi:10.1007/s10071-017-1159-6. ISSN 1435-9448. PMC 6647412. PMID 29368287.
  6. ^ Fröhlich, Marlen; Wittig, Roman M.; Pika, Simone (January 2019). "The ontogeny of intentional communication in chimpanzees in the wild". Developmental Science. 22 (1): e12716. doi:10.1111/desc.12716. ISSN 1363-755X. PMID 30156360. S2CID 52110027.
  7. ^ Pika, Simone; Bugnyar, Thomas (2011-11-29). "The use of referential gestures in ravens (Corvus corax) in the wild". Nature Communications. 2 (1): 560. Bibcode:2011NatCo...2..560P. doi:10.1038/ncomms1567. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 4377648. PMID 22127056.
  8. ^ Pika, Simone; Mitani, John (March 2006). "Referential gestural communication in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)". Current Biology. 16 (6): R191–R192. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.037. PMID 16546066. S2CID 2273018.
  9. ^ Fröhlich, Marlen; Wittig, Roman M.; Pika, Simone (August 2016). "Play-solicitation gestures in chimpanzees in the wild: flexible adjustment to social circumstances and individual matrices". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (8): 160278. Bibcode:2016RSOS....360278F. doi:10.1098/rsos.160278. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 5108953. PMID 27853603.
  10. ^ Luef, Eva Maria; Ter Maat, Andries; Jäger, Manuela; Pika, Simone (2020-01-01). "The 'culture of two': Communication accommodation in ravens' (Corvus corax) nonvocal signaling". Journal of Language Evolution. 5 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1093/jole/lzz008. ISSN 2058-458X.
  11. ^ Luef, Eva Maria; Ter Maat, Andries; Pika, Simone (September 2017). "Vocal similarity in long-distance and short-distance vocalizations in raven pairs ( Corvus corax ) in captivity". Behavioural Processes. 142: 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2017.05.013. PMID 28535928. S2CID 21440907.
  12. ^ Prieur, Jacques; Pika, Simone; Barbu, Stéphanie; Blois-Heulin, Catherine (September 2017). "Intraspecific gestural laterality in chimpanzees and gorillas and the impact of social propensities". Brain Research. 1670: 52–67. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2017.05.033. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-002D-710D-F. PMID 28601632. S2CID 12045564.
  13. ^ Fröhlich, Marlen; Kuchenbuch, Paul; Müller, Gudrun; Fruth, Barbara; Furuichi, Takeshi; Wittig, Roman M.; Pika, Simone (2016-05-23). "Unpeeling the layers of language: Bonobos and chimpanzees engage in cooperative turn-taking sequences". Scientific Reports. 6 (1): 25887. Bibcode:2016NatSR...625887F. doi:10.1038/srep25887. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4876478. PMID 27211477.
  14. ^ Pika, Simone; Wilkinson, Ray; Kendrick, Kobin H.; Vernes, Sonja C. (2018-06-13). "Taking turns: bridging the gap between human and animal communication". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 285 (1880): 20180598. doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.0598. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 6015850. PMID 29875303.
  15. ^ Pika, Simone; Klein, Harmonie; Bunel, Sarah; Baas, Pauline; Théleste, Erwan; Deschner, Tobias (2019-05-23). "Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) exploit tortoises (Kinixys erosa) via percussive technology". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 7661. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.7661P. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43301-8. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6533303. PMID 31123270.
  16. ^ Boesch, Christophe; Kalan, Ammie K.; Mundry, Roger; Arandjelovic, Mimi; Pika, Simone; Dieguez, Paula; Ayimisin, Emmanuel Ayuk; Barciela, Amanda; Coupland, Charlotte; Egbe, Villard Ebot; Eno-Nku, Manasseh; Michael Fay, J.; Fine, David; Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, R.; Hermans, Veerle (2020-05-25). "Chimpanzee ethnography reveals unexpected cultural diversity". Nature Human Behaviour. 4 (9): 910–916. doi:10.1038/s41562-020-0890-1. ISSN 2397-3374. PMID 32451479. S2CID 218877793.
  17. ^ Pika, Simone; Sima, Miriam Jennifer; Blum, Christian R.; Herrmann, Esther; Mundry, Roger (2020-12-10). "Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 20617. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1020617P. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-77060-8. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7728792. PMID 33303790.
  18. ^ Sima, Miriam Jennifer; Matzinger, Theresa; Bugnyar, Thomas; Pika, Simone (January 2018). Herberstein, M. (ed.). "Reconciliation and third‐party affiliation in carrion crows". Ethology. 124 (1): 33–44. doi:10.1111/eth.12699. ISSN 0179-1613.
  19. ^ Southern, Lara M.; Deschner, Tobias; Pika, Simone (2021-07-19). "Lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) on gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the wild". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 14673. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1114673S. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-93829-x. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8290027. PMID 34282175.
  20. ^ Mascaro, Alessandra; Southern, Lara M.; Deschner, Tobias; Pika, Simone (February 2022). "Application of insects to wounds of self and others by chimpanzees in the wild". Current Biology. 32 (3): R112–R113. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.12.045. PMID 35134354. S2CID 246638843.
  21. ^ "Humboldt Foundation".
  22. ^ "European Research council 2017" (PDF).

External links[edit]