Evolution selects for traits that are of adaptive value and increase the fitness of an individual or population. Numerical competence, the ability to estimate and process the number of objects and events, is a cognitive capacity that also influences an individual’s survival and reproduction success. Numerical assessments are ubiquitous in a broad range of ecological contexts. Animals benefit from numerical competence during foraging, navigating, hunting, predation avoidance, social interactions, and reproductive activities. The internal number representations determine how animals perceive stimulus magnitude, which, in turn, constrains an animal’s spontaneous decisions. These findings are placed in a framework to provide for a more quantitative analysis of the adaptive value and selection pressures of numerical competence.

进化选择具有适应性价值并增加个体或群体适应性的特征。数值能力是估计和处理物体和事件数量的能力，是一种认知能力，也影响个人的生存和繁殖成功。数值评估在广泛的生态环境中无处不在。动物在觅食，导航，狩猎，避免掠食，社交互动和生殖活动中受益于数字能力。内部数字表示法决定了动物如何看待刺激幅度，从而限制了动物的自发决定。这些发现被放置在一个框架中，以提供对数字能力的自适应值和选择压力的更定量分析。