Select Publications (through 2025)
Hope S.F., Dittakul S., Yindee M., Angkawanish T., Plotnik J.M. (2025). Do Asian elephants plan for mutually-exclusive outcomes? Animal Cognition, 28(1), 1-17. DOWNLOAD
Jim H.L., Yamamoto S., Bansiddhi P., Plotnik J.M. (2025). Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) recognise human visual attention from body and face orientation. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 32623. DOWNLOAD
Schmitt M.H., Rudolph M.S., Jacobson S.L., Plotnik J.M. (2025). Differences in olfactory discrimination, but not sensitivity, between African and Asian elephants. Ecology and Evolution, 15(8), e71896. DOWNLOAD
Jacobson S.L., Dittakul S., Pla-ard M., Sittichok S., Yindee M., Plotnik J.M. (2025). Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient. Royal Society Open Science, 12(7), 250896. DOWNLOAD
Eleuteri V., Bates L., Nyaradzo Masarira Y., Plotnik J.M., Hobaiter C., Stoeger A.S. (2025). Investigating intentionality in elephant gestural communication. Royal Society Open Science, 12(7), 242203. DOWNLOAD
Bates L., Fishlock V.L., Plotnik J., de Silva S., Shannon G. (2025). Knowledge transmission, culture and the consequences of social disruption in wild elephants. Philosophical Transactions B, 380, 20240132. DOWNLOAD
Hope S.F., Willgohs K.R., Dittakul S., Plotnik J.M. (2025). Do elephants really never forget? What we know about elephant memory and a call for further investigation. Learning & Behavior, 53, 44-64. DOWNLOAD
Pelegrin-Garcia E., Miller R., Plotnik J.M., Schnell A.K. (2025). A special issue in honor of the contributions of Professor Nicola S. Clayton FRS. Learning & Behavior, 53, 7-10. DOWNLOAD
Brosnan S.F., et al. (2024). In memory of our mentor: Frans de Waal (1948-2024). American Journal of Primatology, 86(9), e23668. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik J.M. (2024). Frans BM de Waal, 1948 to 2024: Primatologist and evolutionary cognition researcher who brought us closer to our nonhuman relatives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(33), e2414195121. DOWNLOAD
Jacobson S.L., Dechanupong J., Horpiencharoen W., Yindee M., Plotnik J.M. (2023). Innovating to solve a novel puzzle: Wild Asian elephants vary in their ability to problem solve. Animal Behaviour, 205, 227-239. DOWNLOAD
Clark F.E., Greggor A.L., Montgomery S.H., Plotnik J.M. (2023). The endangered brain: actively preserving ex-situ animal behaviour and cognition will benefit in-situ conservation. Royal Society Open Science, 10(8), 230707. DOWNLOAD
Sarabian C., Wilkinson A., Sigaud M., Kano F., Tobajas J., Darmaillacq A-S., Kalema-Zikusoka G., Plotnik J.M., MacIntosh A.J.J. (2023). Disgust in animals and the application of disease avoidance to wildlife management and conservation. Journal of Animal Ecology, 92(8), 1489-1508. DOWNLOAD
Raviv L., Jacobson S.L., Plotnik J.M., Bowman J., Lynch V., Benitez-Burraco, A. (2023). Elephants as an animal model for self-domestication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 12o(15), e2208607120. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik J. M. & Jacobson, S. L. (2022). A “thinking animal” in conflict: studying wild elephant cognition in the shadow of anthropogenic change. Current Opinions in Behavioral Science, 46, 101148. DOWNLOAD
Ball, R., Jacobson, S. L., Rudolph, M. S., Trapani, M., & Plotnik, J. M. (2022). Acknowledging the Relevance of Elephant Sensory Perception to Human–Elephant Conflict Mitigation. Animals, 12(8), 1018. DOWNLOAD
Li, L-L, Plotnik, J.M., Xia, S-W., Meaux, E., & Quan R-C. (2021). Cooperating elephants mitigate competition until the stakes get too high. PLOS Biology, 19(9), e3001391. DOWNLOAD
Jacobson, S. L., Puitiza, A., Snyder, R. J., Sheppard, A., & Plotnik, J. M. (2021). Persistence is key: investigating innovative problem solving by Asian elephants using a novel multi-access box. Animal Cognition, 25(3), 657-669. DOWNLOAD
Shaw R., Greggor A., & Plotnik, J.M. (2021). The challenges of replicating research on endangered species. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 8(2), 240-246. DOWNLOAD
Jim Hoi-Lam, Range, F., Marshall-Pescini, S., Dale, R., & Plotnik, J.M. (2021). Investigating indirect and direct reputation formation in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 604372. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.604372. DOWNLOAD
Downey H…Plotnik, J.M…Sutherland, W.J. (2021). Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 2, e12032. doi: 10.1002/2688-8319.12032. DOWNLOAD
Jacobson, S. L., & Plotnik, J. M. (2020). The importance of sensory perception in an elephant’s cognitive world. Comparative Cognition and Behavior Reviews, 15. DOWNLOAD
DiPaola, J. D., Yindee, M., & Plotnik, J. M. (2020). Investigating the use of sensory information to detect and track prey by the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) with conservation in mind. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65898-x. DOWNLOAD
Ketchaisri, O., Siripunkaw, C., & Plotnik, J. M. (2019). The use of a human’s location and social cues by Asian elephants in an object-choice task. Animal Cognition, 22(6), 907–915. doi: 10.1007/s10071-019-01283-0. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., Brubaker, D. L., Dale, R., Tiller, L. N., Mumby, H. S., & Clayton, N. S. (2019). Elephants have a nose for quantity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(25), 12566–12571. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1818284116. DOWNLOAD
Mumby, H. S., & Plotnik, J. M. (2018). Taking the Elephants Perspective: Remembering Elephant Behavior, Cognition and Ecology in Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00122. DOWNLOAD
Dale, R., & Plotnik, J. M. (2017). Elephants know when their bodies are obstacles to success in a novel transfer task. Scientific Reports, 7(1). doi: 10.1038/srep46309. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., & Waal, F. B. D. (2014). Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) reassure others in distress. PeerJ, 2. doi: 10.7717/peerj.278. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., & Waal, F. B. M. D. (2014). Extraordinary elephant perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(14), 5071–5072. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1403064111. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., Shaw, R. C., Brubaker, D. L., Tiller, L. N., & Clayton, N. S. (2014). Thinking with their trunks: elephants use smell but not sound to locate food and exclude nonrewarding alternatives. Animal Behaviour, 88, 91–98. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.11.011. DOWNLOAD
MacLean, E. L., Hare, B., Nunn, C. L., Addessi, E., Amici, F., Anderson, R. C., … & Plotnik, J. M. (2014). The evolution of self-control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(20), E2140-E2148. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., Pokorny, J. J., Keratimanochaya, T., Webb, C., Beronja, H. F., Hennessy, A., … Getz, D. (2013). Visual Cues Given by Humans Are Not Sufficient for Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) to Find Hidden Food. PLoS ONE, 8(4). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061174. DOWNLOAD
Shaw, R. C., Plotnik, J. M., & Clayton, N. S. (2013). Exclusion in corvids: The performance of food-caching Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 127(4), 428–435. doi: 10.1037/a0032010. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., Lair, R., Suphachoksahakun, W., & Waal, F. B. M. D. (2011). Elephants know when they need a helping trunk in a cooperative task. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(12), 5116–5121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1101765108. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., Waal, F. B. D., Moore, D., & Reiss, D. (2010). Self-recognition in the Asian elephant and future directions for cognitive research with elephants in zoological settings. Zoo Biology, 29(2), 179–191. doi: 10.1002/zoo.20257. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J. M., Waal, F. B. M. D., & Reiss, D. (2006). Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(45), 17053–17057. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0608062103. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik, J.M., Nelson, P. A., & Waal, F. B. M. (2006). Visual Field Information in the Face Perception of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1000(1), 94–98. doi: 10.1196/annals.1280.020. DOWNLOAD
Book Chapters or Invited Commentaries
Krisch E, Plotnik J.M. (2021). The social minds of elephants. Cambridge Handbook of Social Cognition. Univ of Cambridge Press.
Jacobson S, Plotnik J.M. (2020). Elephant cognition: an overview. In Zoo Animal Learning and Training (eds. Melfi VA, Dorey NR, Ward SJ). John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 191-196. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik J.M. (2018). Thinking, smelling and saving elephants. The Psychologist Magazine, 31. Pp. 28-53. DOWNLOAD
Plotnik J.M., Clayton NS. (2015). Convergent cognitive evolution across animal taxa: Comparisons of chimpanzees, corvids and elephants. Concepts: New Directions. MIT Press.
Plotnik J.M. (2014). Inside the elephant mind. PlanetWildlife Magazine.
Plotnik J.M., de Waal FBM. (2010). Cooperation. Encyc. Appl. Animal Behav. Welfare (edited by D. Mills et al.). London: CABI Press.