Table 3 A list of behavioral examples provided in the questionnaire where respondents were asked to rank on a scale from one to four (or six) whether they considered the presented behavior to be intelligent or not (1 = not intelligent to 4 or 6 = very intelligent)

Animal behavior

Camouflaging: Cephalopod species (squids, octopus and cuttlefish) are known to be very intelligent invertebrates. The octopus have evolved an effective and impressive camouflaging ability that allows them to manipulate and exploit their surroundings to hide from predators and hide from prey. This intelligent behavior requires the ability to acquire external information, process complex information, and flexibly adapt in order to successfully achieve its goal [64]

Foraging: The omnivorous stump-tailed macaques, Macaca arctoides, spends half of its day foraging and feeding. M. arctoides usually travel on the ground, but do climb trees either to forage for food resources or to go to sleep. They travel to areas where food is abundant, by remembering the exact locations and by following the changes in seasonal patterns of the vegetation. They can travel from tree to tree when they forage, avoid other territories belonging to other groups, and descend to continue to forage in other areas when food resources have been eaten up. Many climbing species, much like M. arctoides, forage for food in an adaptable, meaningful and flexible manner. They know where resources are, avoid competition, and anticipate where food resources will be. They respond to these changes to ultimately maximize their fitness [65]

Plant behavior

Camouflaging: Some plant species (Corydalis hemidicentra Hand.-Mazz) can camouflage like animals with the same known behaviors: (1) Background matching—blending with the colors of shapes of the habitat where they live; (2) Disruptive coloration—markings that create the appearance of false edges and boundaries, making it harder to see the true outline; (3) Masquerade—looking like something else; usually something a predator might ignore, such a stone or twig. Examples include living stones, some cacti, passion vines and mistletoes; and (4) Decoration—accumulating material from the environment. For example, some coastal and dune plants get covered by sand because of their sticky glandular trichomes, making them less conspicuous. This intelligent behavior requires the ability to acquire external information, process complex information, and flexibly adapt in order to successfully achieve its goal [66]

Foraging: Climbing plants, such as tropical species from the Araceae family, Syngonium spp., forages for light by reaching the top of its host tree and descends to the ground while searching for another host tree. Its morphological features also progressively changes as it climbs, growing thicker filiform stems (tendrils) with larger and thicker leaves at the top. The tendril explores to find other tree hosts by extending and descending downwards, having thinner tendrils and smaller leaves. Syngonium spp. can therefore switch between mobile and sessile behavior. It has the capacity to decide when to climb and when to descend, by flexibly changing its growth direction given exogenous changes. This light-foraging behavior is adaptable and meaningful [67]