Recognition of novelty in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) and tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Abstract

Novelty recognition helps organisms identify changes over time. Studies to date have usually involved mammals, particularly rodents. We explored leopard geckos’ (Eublepharis macularius; Experiment 1) and tiger salamanders’ (Ambystoma tigrinum, Experiment 2) sensitivity to spatial and object novelty. We used an exploratory paradigm adapted from rodents where time spent near objects in an open-field box was compared. Subjects first habituated to three objects. To evaluate spatial novelty recognition, one object was moved to a new location. Subjects again habituated to the objects’ locations. To evaluate object novelty recognition, one object that had not been moved earlier was replaced with an unfamiliar object. Results indicated when one object was moved to a new location, geckos and salamanders spent more time near that spatially-displaced object. Additionally, when a familiar object was replaced with a new object, geckos and salamanders spent more time near the substituted object. These results suggest geckos and salamanders recognized changes in objects’ identities and locations. Geckos and salamanders acted differentially depending on familiarity in both spatial and object domains. These results support attempts to include lesser-studied species in our efforts to characterize cognition.