Abstract
Associative learning is essential for resource acquisition, predator avoidance and reproduction in a wide diversity of species, and is therefore a key target for evolutionary and comparative cognition research. Automated operant devices can greatly enhance the study of associative learning and yet their use has been mainly restricted to laboratory conditions. We developed a portable, weatherproof, battery-operated operant device and conducted the first fully automated colour-associative learning experiment using free-ranging individuals in the wild. We used the device to run a colour discrimination task in a monitored population of tits (Paridae). Over two winter months, 80 individuals from four species recorded a total of 5,128 trials. Great tits (Parus major) were more likely than other species to visit the devices and engage in trials, but there were no sex or personality biases in the sample of great tits landing at the devices and registering key pecks. Juveniles were more likely than adults to visit the devices and to register trials. Individuals that were successful at solving a novel technical problem in captivity (lever-pulling) learned faster than non-solvers when at the operant devices in the wild, suggesting cross-contextual consistency in learning performance in very different tasks. There was no significant effect of personality or sex on learning rate, but juveniles’ choice accuracy tended to improve at a faster rate than adults. We discuss how customisable automated operant devices, such as the one described here, could prove to be a powerful tool in evolutionary ecology studies of cognitive traits, especially among inquisitive species such as great tits.
Highlights
Cognition–the processes by which animals collect, store and use information from their environment [1]—has traditionally been studied in captivity, using either lab-raised or wild-caught animals
Great tits recorded the highest number of trials (N = 5,086), followed by blue tits (N = 32), marsh tits (N = 9) and coal tits (N = 1; Table A in S2 Text)
We developed a portable, automated operant device and tested a research protocol for the measurement of associative learning in free-ranging songbirds
Summary
Cognition–the processes by which animals collect, store and use information from their environment [1]—has traditionally been studied in captivity, using either lab-raised or wild-caught animals. This allows the control of external factors that could impact on performance during tests, and trials can be administered to targeted subjects on experimenter-defined schedules. More recently researchers have begun to develop cognitive assays that can be conducted in the wild, with free-ranging individuals interacting with devices or being tracked in PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0133821. Taking the Operant Paradigm into the Field More recently researchers have begun to develop cognitive assays that can be conducted in the wild, with free-ranging individuals interacting with devices or being tracked in PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0133821 August 19, 2015
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