Niche-specific cognitive strategies: object-specific cues overshadow spatial cues in a predatory bat

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Niche-specific cognitive strategies: object-specific cues overshadow spatial cues in a predatory bat Katrine Hulgard1 and John Ratcliffe1* 1 University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Biology, Denmark Natterer’s bat, Myotis nattereri, hunts arthropod prey close to vegetation, using echolocation calls of broad bandwidth to resolve prey from clutter. Preliminary observations suggest M. nattereri associates nearby shapes with food. Here we tested the niche-specific cognitive strategies hypothesis using M. nattereri. Specifically, the prediction that - as opposed to frugivorous and nectivorous bat species - predatory bats should rely more on object memory than on spatial memory to identify potentially profitable prey patches. We observed free-flying M. nattereri as they took palatable and unpalatable prey suspended below different 3D objects. Bats in Group 1 experienced each of 4 experimental scenarios in sequence, those in Group 2 only the last scenario. Group 1 bats observed in scenarios 1-3 (all object memory tasks) readily associated different shapes with prey palatability but then did no better than chance in scenario 4 (spatial memory task). Conversely, experimentally naïve bats (Group 2) associated prey palatability with spatial position (scenario 4), although less readily than fruit or flower bats. Our results support the niche-specific cognitive strategies hypothesis in bats and other vertebrates, and suggest that for M. nattereri shape cues overshadow positional cues despite echolocating bats' well-established reliance on spatial memory for other tasks. Acknowledgements We thank Annemarie Surlykke for discussion and Lasse Jakobsen, Coen Elemans, Kayleigh Fawcett, and Line Faber for assistance. This project was funded by grants from the Danish Research Council and the European Reseach Council. Keywords: Echolocation, foraging, niche-specific cognitive strategies, object recognition, predatory bats, spatial memory Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well) Topic: Ecology Citation: Hulgard K and Ratcliffe J (2012). Niche-specific cognitive strategies: object-specific cues overshadow spatial cues in a predatory bat. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00144 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Apr 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Dr. John Ratcliffe, University of Southern Denmark, Institute of Biology, Odense, DK- 5230 M, Denmark, jmr@biology.sdu.dk Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Katrine Hulgard John Ratcliffe Google Katrine Hulgard John Ratcliffe Google Scholar Katrine Hulgard John Ratcliffe PubMed Katrine Hulgard John Ratcliffe Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.