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Szymkowiak J. Auditory risk recognition is socially transmitted across territory borders in wild birds. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:19. [PMID: 38429547 PMCID: PMC10907423 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01858-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Prey species commonly assess predation risk based on acoustic signals, such as predator vocalizations or heterospecific alarm calls. The resulting risk-sensitive decision-making affects not only the behavior and life-history of individual prey, but also has far-reaching ecological consequences for population, community, and ecosystem dynamics. Although auditory risk recognition is ubiquitous in animals, it remains unclear how individuals gain the ability to recognize specific sounds as cues of a threat. Here, it has been shown that free-living birds (Wood Warblers Phylloscopus sibilatrix) can learn to recognize unfamiliar, complex sounds (samples of punk rock songs) as cues of a threat from conspecifics holding adjacent territories during the spring breeding season. In a playback experiment, Wood Warblers initially ignored the unfamiliar sounds, but after repeatedly hearing that these sounds trigger alarm calling reaction of neighbors, most individuals showed an anti-predator response to them. Moreover, once learned soon after nestlings hatching, the anti-predator response of parents toward previously unfamiliar sounds was then retained over the entire nestlings rearing period. These results demonstrate that social learning via the association of unfamiliar sounds with known alarm signals enables the spread of anti-predator behavior across territory borders and provides a mechanism explaining the widespread abilities of animals to assess predation risk based on acoustic cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Szymkowiak
- Faculty of Biology, Forest Biology Center, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznan, Poland.
- Population Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznan, Poland.
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Soravia C, Ashton BJ, Thornton A, Ridley AR. High temperatures are associated with reduced cognitive performance in wild southern pied babblers. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231077. [PMID: 37989242 PMCID: PMC10688443 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Global temperatures are increasing rapidly. While considerable research is accumulating regarding the lethal and sublethal effects of heat on wildlife, its potential impact on animal cognition has received limited attention. Here, we tested wild southern pied babblers (Turdoides bicolor) on three cognitive tasks (associative learning, reversal learning and inhibitory control) under naturally occurring heat stress and non-heat stress conditions. We determined whether cognitive performance was explained by temperature, heat dissipation behaviours, individual and social attributes, or proxies of motivation. We found that temperature, but not heat dissipation behaviours, predicted variation in associative learning performance. Individuals required on average twice as many trials to learn an association when the maximum temperature during testing exceeded 38°C compared with moderate temperatures. Higher temperatures during testing were also associated with reduced inhibitory control performance, but only in females. By contrast, we found no temperature-related decline in performance in the reversal learning task, albeit individuals reached learning criterion in only 14 reversal learning tests. Our findings provide novel evidence of temperature-mediated cognitive impairment in a wild animal and indicate that its occurrence depends on the cognitive trait examined and individual sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Soravia
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 6009
| | - Benjamin J. Ashton
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 6009
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2109
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, 7701
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Amanda R. Ridley
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia 6009
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, 7701
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Sandoval L, Wilson DR. Neotropical birds respond innately to unfamiliar acoustic signals. Am Nat 2022; 200:419-434. [DOI: 10.1086/720441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Lu C, Lefeuvre M, Rutkowska J. Variability in ambient temperature promotes juvenile participation and shorter latency in a learning test in zebra finches. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Szymkowiak
- Population Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz Univ. Poznań Poland
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Szymkowiak J. Wood warblers learn to recognize mobbing calls of an unfamiliar species from heterospecific tutors. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Salis A, Léna J, Lengagne T. Great tits (
Parus major
) adequately respond to both allopatric combinatorial mobbing calls and their isolated parts. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ambre Salis
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F‐69622 Villeurbanne France
| | - Jean‐Paul Léna
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F‐69622 Villeurbanne France
| | - Thierry Lengagne
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F‐69622 Villeurbanne France
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Wild great tits' alarm calls prompt vigilant behaviours in free-range chickens. Anim Cogn 2020; 24:213-216. [PMID: 33037460 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01440-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The ability to use heterospecific alarm calls is adaptive in the wild, as it provides an opportunity to avoid predators. We now know that several species are able to respond to alarm calls intended for others. However, this capacity has never been investigated in domestic animals. The capacity to use heterospecific alarm calls may be relevant for free-range domestic species, especially when they share predators with wild signallers. Using playback experiments, we investigated the vigilance behaviour of free-range naked neck chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) when confronted with alarm calls (test playbacks) and songs (control playbacks) of a commonly occurring wild passerine, the great tit (Parus major). We found that subjects exhibited an increased vigilance to alarm calls compared to songs, therefore, showing that chickens respond to heterospecific signals as wild birds do. Recently, there has been an increased interest for free-range poultry production, notably because of the benefits of this farming method for chicken welfare. Although future studies are required to address this question, mortality due to predation may be reduced through the implementation of structures in areas frequented by wild heterospecific signallers.
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Waterman JM, Mai M. Eavesdropping of an African ground squirrel on the heterospecific alarm calls of a noisy ground‐nesting bird. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jane M. Waterman
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg MB Canada
- Department of Zoology and Entomology Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Monica Mai
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg MB Canada
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Keen SC, Cole EF, Sheehan MJ, Sheldon BC. Social learning of acoustic anti-predator cues occurs between wild bird species. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192513. [PMID: 32075532 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In many species, individuals gather information about their environment both through direct experience and through information obtained from others. Social learning, or the acquisition of information from others, can occur both within and between species and may facilitate the rapid spread of antipredator behaviour. Within birds, acoustic signals are frequently used to alert others to the presence of predators, and individuals can quickly learn to associate novel acoustic cues with predation risk. However, few studies have addressed whether such learning occurs only though direct experience or whether it has a social component, nor whether such learning can occur between species. We investigate these questions in two sympatric species of Parids: blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major). Using playbacks of unfamiliar bird vocalizations paired with a predator model in a controlled aviary setting, we find that blue tits can learn to associate a novel sound with predation risk via direct experience, and that antipredator response to the sound can be socially transmitted to heterospecific observers, despite lack of first-hand experience. Our results suggest that social learning of acoustic cues can occur between species. Such interspecific social information transmission may help to mediate the formation of mixed-species aggregations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara C Keen
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.,Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Ella F Cole
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Michael J Sheehan
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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