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Rose A, Tschapka M, Knörnschild M. Social information facilitates learning about novel food sources in adult flower-visiting bats. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1635-1642. [PMID: 37421496 PMCID: PMC10442281 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01807-9] [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: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Incorporating novel food sources into their diet is crucial for animals in changing environments. Although the utilization of novel food sources can be learned individually, learning socially from experienced conspecifics may facilitate this task and enable a transmission of foraging-related innovations across a population. In anthropogenically modified habitats, bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) frequently adapt their feeding strategy to novel food sources, and corresponding social learning processes have been experimentally demonstrated in frugivorous and animalivorous species. However, comparable experiments are lacking for nectarivorous flower-visiting bats, even though their utilization of novel food sources in anthropogenically altered habitats is often observed and even discussed as the reason why bats are able to live in some areas. In the present study, we investigated whether adult flower-visiting bats may benefit from social information when learning about a novel food source. We conducted a demonstrator-observer dyad with wild Pallas' long-tongued bats (Glossophaga soricina; Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) and hypothesized that naïve individuals would learn to exploit a novel food source faster when accompanied by an experienced demonstrator bat. Our results support this hypothesis and demonstrate flower-visiting bats to be capable of using social information to expand their dietary repertoire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Rose
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069, Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Building 401 Tupper, Luis Clement Avenue, Balboa Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Building 401 Tupper, Luis Clement Avenue, Balboa Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama
- Museum für Naturkunde-Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Biology, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 42, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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2
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Mendez AD, Hall NJ. Evaluating and re-evaluating intra- and inter-species social transmission of food preferences in domestic dogs. Behav Processes 2021; 191:104471. [PMID: 34339833 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Social-transmission of food preference is a robust behavioral phenomenon in rodents and other species, but less work has evaluated this phenomenon in broader taxa and to what degree social-transmission can occur between species. Here we show that over the span of three experiments that consisted of a human-dog, a dog-dog, and a replication study of a dog-dog demonstrator-observer test, we did not observe successful social transmission of food preferences across all three experiments. For our first experiment, we investigated whether pet dogs acquire food preference from their owners using a two-bowl preference test. The results suggested that our dogs did not acquire a preference for the flavor consumed by their owners. This then led us to investigate whether this failure was the result of an inter-species failure, so we replicated the experiment using two familiar dogs as the demonstrator and observer. The results for Experiment Two also suggested that our participant dogs do not acquire food preference from a canine demonstrator. A third experiment attempted a direct replication of the Lupfer-Johnson and Ross (2007) that found dog-dog transmission of food preferences. Our results again indicated that our participant dogs did not acquire food preference from demonstrators. Over the span of three experiments, our results did not show clear canine food preferences for the food consumed by a demonstrator (human or dog).
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando D Mendez
- Dept. of Animal and Food Science, Texas Tech University, United States
| | - Nathaniel J Hall
- Dept. of Animal and Food Science, Texas Tech University, United States.
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3
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Knörnschild M, Fernandez AA. Do Bats Have the Necessary Prerequisites for Symbolic Communication? Front Psychol 2020; 11:571678. [PMID: 33262725 PMCID: PMC7688458 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.571678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Training animals such as apes, gray parrots, or dolphins that communicate via arbitrary symbols with humans has revealed astonishing mental capacities that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Albeit bats have not yet been trained to communicate via symbols with humans, we are convinced that some species, especially captive Pteropodid bats ("flying foxes"), show the potential to master this cognitive task. Here, we briefly review what is known about bats' cognitive skills that constitute relevant prerequisites for symbolic communication with humans. We focus on social learning in general, trainability by humans, associative learning from humans, imitation, vocal production learning and usage learning, and social knowledge. Moreover, we highlight potential training paradigms that could be used to elicit simple "symbolic" bat-human communication, i.e., training bats to select arbitrary symbols on a touchscreen to elicit a desired behavior of the human caregiver. Touchscreen-proficient bats could participate in cognition research, e.g., to study their numerical competence or categorical perception, to further elucidate how nonhuman animals learn and perceive the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjam Knörnschild
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
- Animal Behavior Lab, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panama
| | - Ahana A. Fernandez
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
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4
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Hernández‐Montero JR, Schöner CR, Kerth G. No evidence for memory retention of a learned association between a cue and roost quality after hibernation in free‐ranging bats. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jesús R. Hernández‐Montero
- Zoological Institute and MuseumApplied Zoology and Nature ConservationUniversity of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Caroline R. Schöner
- Zoological Institute and MuseumApplied Zoology and Nature ConservationUniversity of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Gerald Kerth
- Zoological Institute and MuseumApplied Zoology and Nature ConservationUniversity of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
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5
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Page RA, Bernal XE. The challenge of detecting prey: Private and social information use in predatory bats. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ximena E. Bernal
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panamá
- Department of Biological Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
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6
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Rose A, Wöhl S, Bechler J, Tschapka M, Knörnschild M. Maternal mouth-to-mouth feeding behaviour in flower-visiting bats, but no experimental evidence for transmitted dietary preferences. Behav Processes 2019; 165:29-35. [PMID: 31170462 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In addition to breast milk, several mammals feed their offspring with primary food items. This provisioning can offer both energetic and informational benefits: young might use parentally provided food as a source of nutrients, but also as a valuable option to socially learn about adults' food. For bats, there are only very few and partially anecdotal reports of adults feeding their pups with primary food, and there is also a lack of information about social learning processes during ontogeny. In the present study, we provide experimental evidence that lactating flower-visiting bats (Glossophaga soricina) provide regurgitated nectar via mouth-to-mouth feeding behaviour to their pups. After licking at their mothers' slightly opened mouth, pups defecated a marker substance that was exclusively available in the mothers' nectar diet. We additionally investigated associated informational benefits by testing for a social transmission of dietary preferences. We experimentally induced a dietary preference for specifically flavoured nectars to mothers with non-volant pups. Subsequently, after pups became volant, we tested their dietary preferences in a choice experiment. However, we found no experimental evidence that pups adopted the preferences of their mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Rose
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, D-89069, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Saskia Wöhl
- Institute of Zoology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Staudtstr. 5, 91058, Erlangen, Germany; Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum Westerwald-Osteifel, Fachzentrum für Bienen und Imkerei, Im Bannen 38, 56727, Mayen, Germany
| | - Jan Bechler
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, D-89069, Ulm, Germany
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, D-89069, Ulm, Germany; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Building 401 Tupper, Luis Clement Avenue, Balboa Ancon, Panama
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Building 401 Tupper, Luis Clement Avenue, Balboa Ancon, Panama; Animal Behavior Lab, Free University Berlin, Takustrasse 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany; Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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7
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Greif S, Yovel Y. Using on-board sound recordings to infer behaviour of free-moving wild animals. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:222/Suppl_1/jeb184689. [PMID: 30728226 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.184689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Technological advances in the last 20 years have enabled researchers to develop increasingly sophisticated miniature devices (tags) that record an animal's behaviour not from an observational, external viewpoint, but directly on the animals themselves. So far, behavioural research with these tags has mostly been conducted using movement or acceleration data. But on-board audio recordings have become more and more common following pioneering work in marine mammal research. The first questions that come to mind when recording sound on-board animals concern their vocal behaviour. When are they calling? How do they adjust their behaviour? What acoustic parameters do they change and how? However, other topics like foraging behaviour, social interactions or environmental acoustics can now be addressed as well and offer detailed insight into the animals' daily life. In this Review, we discuss the possibilities, advantages and limitations of on-board acoustic recordings. We focus primarily on bats as their active-sensing, echolocating lifestyle allows many approaches to a multi-faceted acoustic assessment of their behaviour. The general ideas and concepts, however, are applicable to many animals and hopefully will demonstrate the versatility of on-board acoustic recordings and stimulate new research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Greif
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Yossi Yovel
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel .,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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8
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Chaverri G, Ancillotto L, Russo D. Social communication in bats. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 93:1938-1954. [PMID: 29766650 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Bats represent one of the most diverse mammalian orders, not only in terms of species numbers, but also in their ecology and life histories. Many species are known to use ephemeral and/or unpredictable resources that require substantial investment to find and defend, and also engage in social interactions, thus requiring significant levels of social coordination. To accomplish these tasks, bats must be able to communicate; there is now substantial evidence that demonstrates the complexity of bat communication and the varied ways in which bats solve some of the problems associated with their unique life histories. However, while the study of communication in bats is rapidly growing, it still lags behind other taxa. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of communication in bats, from the reasons why they communicate to the diversity and application of different signal modalities. The most widespread form of communication is the transmission of a signaller's characteristics, such as species identity, sex, individual identity, group membership, social status and body condition, and because many species of bats can rely little on vision due to their nocturnal lifestyles, it is assumed that sound and olfaction are particularly important signalling modes. For example, research suggests that secretions from specialized glands, often in combination with urine and saliva, are responsible for species recognition in several species. These olfactory signals may also convey information about sex and colony membership. Olfaction may be used in combination with sound, particularly in species that emit constant frequency (CF) echolocation calls, to recognize conspecifics from heterospecifics, yet their simple structure and high frequency do not allow much information of individual identity to be conveyed over long distances. By contrast, social calls may encode a larger number of cues of individual identity, and their lower frequencies increase their range of detection. Social calls are also known to deter predators, repel competitors from foraging patches, attract group mates to roost sites, coordinate foraging activities, and are used during courtship. In addition to sound, visual displays such as wing flapping or hovering may be used during courtship, and swarming around roost sites may serve as a visual cue of roost location. However, visual communication in bats still remains a poorly studied signal modality. Finally, the most common form of tactile communication known in bats is social grooming, which may be used to signal reproductive condition, but also to facilitate and strengthen cooperative interactions. Overall, this review demonstrates the rapid advances made in the study of bat social communication during recent years, and also identifies topics that require further study, particularly those that may allow us to understand adaptation to rapidly changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloriana Chaverri
- Recinto de Golfito, Universidad de Costa Rica, Golfito, 60701, Costa Rica
| | - Leonardo Ancillotto
- Wildlife Research Unit, Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università 100, Portici NA 80055, Italy
| | - Danilo Russo
- Wildlife Research Unit, Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università 100, Portici NA 80055, Italy.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, U.K
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9
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Patriquin KJ, Kohles JE, Page RA, Ratcliffe JM. Bats without borders: Predators learn novel prey cues from other predatory species. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaaq0579. [PMID: 29568801 PMCID: PMC5862503 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaq0579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Learning from others allows individuals to adapt rapidly to environmental change. Although conspecifics tend to be reliable models, heterospecifics with similar resource requirements may be suitable surrogates when conspecifics are few or unfamiliar with recent changes in resource availability. We tested whether Trachops cirrhosus, a gleaning bat that localizes prey using their mating calls, can learn about novel prey from conspecifics and the sympatric bat Lophostoma silvicolum. Specifically, we compared the rate for naïve T. cirrhosus to learn an unfamiliar tone from either a trained conspecific or heterospecific alone through trial and error or through social facilitation. T. cirrhosus learned this novel cue from L. silvicolum as quickly as from conspecifics. This is the first demonstration of social learning of a novel acoustic cue in bats and suggests that heterospecific learning may occur in nature. We propose that auditory-based social learning may help bats learn about unfamiliar prey and facilitate their adaptive radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krista J. Patriquin
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, República de Panamá
| | - Jenna E. Kohles
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, República de Panamá
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Rachel A. Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, República de Panamá
| | - John M. Ratcliffe
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
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10
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Baerwald EF, Barclay RMR. Are migratory behaviours of bats socially transmitted? ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:150658. [PMID: 27152208 PMCID: PMC4852631 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2016] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
To migrate, animals rely on endogenous, genetically inherited programmes, or socially transmitted information about routes and behaviours, or a combination of the two. In long-lived animals with extended parental care, as in bats, migration tends to be socially transmitted rather than endogenous. For a young bat to learn migration via social transmission, they would need to follow an experienced individual, most likely one roosting nearby. Therefore, we predicted that bats travelling together originate from the same place. It is also likely that young bats would follow their mothers or other kin, so we predicted that bats travelling together are more closely related to each other than bats not travelling together. To test our predictions, we used microsatellite genotypes and stable isotope values of δ (13)C, δ (15)N and δ (2)H to analyse the relatedness and geographical origins of migrating hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus/Aeorestes cinereus (Baird et al. 2015 J. Mammal. 96, 1255-1274 (doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyv135)); n = 133) and silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans; n = 87) killed at wind turbines over two consecutive autumn migrations. Contrary to our predictions, there was no evidence that related dyads of hoary bats or silver-haired bats were killed on the same night more frequently than expected by chance, or that the number of days between the fatalities of dyad members was influenced by relatedness or latitude of origin. Our data suggest that these bats do not socially transmit migration routes and behaviours among close kin.
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Ripperger S, Josic D, Hierold M, Koelpin A, Weigel R, Hartmann M, Page R, Mayer F. Automated proximity sensing in small vertebrates: design of miniaturized sensor nodes and first field tests in bats. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:2179-89. [PMID: 27069579 PMCID: PMC4782256 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Revised: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social evolution has led to a stunning diversity of complex social behavior, in particular in vertebrate taxa. Thorough documentation of social interactions is crucial to study the causes and consequences of sociality in gregarious animals. Wireless digital transceivers represent a promising tool to revolutionize data collection for the study of social interactions in terms of the degree of automation, data quantity, and quality. Unfortunately, devices for automated proximity sensing via direct communication among animal‐borne sensors are usually heavy and do not allow for the investigation of small animal species, which represent the majority of avian and mammalian taxa. We present a lightweight animal‐borne sensor node that is built from commercially available components and uses a sophisticated scheme for energy‐efficient communication, with high sampling rates at relatively low power consumption. We demonstrate the basic functionality of the sensor node under laboratory conditions and its applicability for the study of social interactions among free‐ranging animals. The first field tests were performed on two species of bats in temperate and tropical ecosystems. At <2 g, this sensor node is light enough to observe a broad spectrum of taxa including small vertebrates. Given our specifications, the system was especially sensitive to changes in distance within the short range (up to a distance of 4 m between tags). High spatial resolution at short distances enables the evaluation of interactions among individuals at a fine scale and the investigation of close contacts. This technology opens new avenues of research, allowing detailed investigation of events associated with social contact, such as mating behavior, pathogen transmission, social learning, and resource sharing. Social behavior that is not easily observed becomes observable, for example, in animals living in burrows or in nocturnal animals. A switch from traditional methods to the application of digital transceiver chips in proximity sensing offers numerous advantages in addition to an enormous increase in data quality and quantity. For future applications, the platform allows for the integration of additional sensors that may collect physiological or environmental data. Such information complements social network studies and may allow for a deeper understanding of animal ecology and social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Ripperger
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science Berlin Germany
| | - Darija Josic
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science Berlin Germany
| | - Martin Hierold
- Institute for Electronics Engineering Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) Erlangen Germany
| | - Alexander Koelpin
- Institute for Electronics Engineering Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) Erlangen Germany
| | - Robert Weigel
- Institute for Electronics Engineering Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) Erlangen Germany
| | - Markus Hartmann
- Information Technology (Communication Electronics) Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) Erlangen Germany
| | - Rachel Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón Panama
| | - Frieder Mayer
- Museum für Naturkunde Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science Berlin Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research Berlin Germany
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12
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Rose A, Kolar M, Tschapka M, Knörnschild M. Learning where to feed: the use of social information in flower-visiting Pallas' long-tongued bats (Glossophaga soricina). Anim Cogn 2015; 19:251-62. [PMID: 26497984 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-015-0930-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Revised: 10/07/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Social learning is a widespread phenomenon among vertebrates that influences various patterns of behaviour and is often reported with respect to foraging behaviour. The use of social information by foraging bats was documented in insectivorous, carnivorous and frugivorous species, but there are little data whether flower-visiting nectarivorous bats (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) can acquire information about food from other individuals. In this study, we conducted an experiment with a demonstrator-observer paradigm to investigate whether flower-visiting Pallas' long-tongued bats (Glossophaga soricina) are able to socially learn novel flower positions via observation of, or interaction with, knowledgeable conspecifics. The results demonstrate that flower-visiting G. soricina are able to use social information for the location of novel flower positions and can thereby reduce energy-costly search efforts. This social transmission is explainable as a result of local enhancement; learning bats might rely on both visual and echo-acoustical perception and are likely to eavesdrop on auditory cues that are emitted by feeding conspecifics. We additionally tested the spatial memory capacity of former demonstrator bats when retrieving a learned flower position, and the results indicate that flower-visiting bats remember a learned flower position after several weeks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Rose
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Helmholtzstr. 10/1, 89069, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Miriam Kolar
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Helmholtzstr. 10/1, 89069, Ulm, Germany
| | - Marco Tschapka
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Helmholtzstr. 10/1, 89069, Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Roosevelt Avenida, Tupper Building 401, Balboa, Panama
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Helmholtzstr. 10/1, 89069, Ulm, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Roosevelt Avenida, Tupper Building 401, Balboa, Panama
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13
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Ruczyński I, Clarin TMA, Siemers BM. Do greater mouse-eared bats experience a trade-off between energy conservation and learning? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 217:4043-8. [PMID: 25392460 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.106336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Bats, some species of rodents and some birds are able to save energy during the summer period by decreasing their body temperature and falling into torpor. Some studies indicate that torpor prevents sleeping and causes effects similar to sleep deprivation. Impairment of processes stabilizing memory slows down learning accuracy and speed. We conducted two experiments to test whether greater mouse-eared bats, Myotis myotis, which commonly use torpor during the summer period, experience a trade-off between energy savings and learning abilities. We compared learning speed and accuracy in bats that were exposed to low (7°C) and higher ambient temperatures (22°C) between training and experimental sessions. Tests were conducted in experiments with food reward (food search) and without food reward (perch search). Time spent with the skin temperature above 30°C was significantly longer for bats exposed to 22°C than for those exposed to 7°C, and longer in experiments with food reward than without food reward. We observed only a very weak tendency for better accuracy and shorter search times in bats exposed to 22°C than in those exposed to 7°C. Our data indicate that memory consolidation of bats under natural conditions is not affected by daily torpor when bats are in good condition and may therefore defend against a rapid fall into torpor. We suggest that homeostatic processes connected with the circadian rhythm allow protection of the consolidation of memory for relatively simple tasks despite time spent in torpor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ireneusz Ruczyński
- Sensory Ecology Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 11, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany Mammal Research Institute PAS, Waszkiewicza 1, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
| | - Theresa M A Clarin
- Sensory Ecology Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 11, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Bjoern M Siemers
- Sensory Ecology Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 11, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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14
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15
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Ancillotto L, Allegrini C, Serangeli MT, Jones G, Russo D. Sociality across species: spatial proximity of newborn bats promotes heterospecific social bonding. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
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16
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Bunkley JP, Barber JR. An Observation of Apparent Teaching Behavior in the Pallid Bat,Antrozous pallidus. WEST N AM NATURALIST 2014. [DOI: 10.3398/064.074.0213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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17
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O'Mara MT, Dechmann DKN, Page RA. Frugivorous bats evaluate the quality of social information when choosing novel foods. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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