Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species
Food availability may vary spatially and temporally within an environment. Efficiency in locating alternative food sources using spatial information (e.g., distribution patterns) may vary according to a species’ diet and habitat specialisation. Hypothetically, more generalist species would learn fas...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Birds |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6004/2/3/21 |
| _version_ | 1797520030512971776 |
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| author | Pizza Ka Yee Chow James R. Davies Awani Bapat Auguste M. P. von Bayern |
| author_facet | Pizza Ka Yee Chow James R. Davies Awani Bapat Auguste M. P. von Bayern |
| author_sort | Pizza Ka Yee Chow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Food availability may vary spatially and temporally within an environment. Efficiency in locating alternative food sources using spatial information (e.g., distribution patterns) may vary according to a species’ diet and habitat specialisation. Hypothetically, more generalist species would learn faster than more specialist species due to being more explorative when changes occur. We tested this hypothesis in two closely related macaw species, differing in their degree of diet and habitat specialisation; the more generalist Great Green Macaw and the more specialist Blue-throated Macaw. We examined their spatial pattern learning performance under predictable temporal and spatial change, using a ‘poke box’ that contained hidden food placed within wells. Each week, the rewarded wells formed two patterns (A and B), which were changed on a mid-week schedule. We found that the two patterns varied in their difficulty. We also found that the more generalist Great Green Macaws took fewer trials to learn the easier pattern and made more mean correct responses in the difficult pattern than the more specialist Blue-throated Macaws, thus supporting our hypothesis. The better learning performance of the Great Green Macaws may be explained by more exploration and trading-off accuracy for speed. These results suggest how variation in diet and habitat specialisation may relate to a species’ ability to adapt to spatial variation in food availability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:51:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-401a15f9848a4009ac5685cabee9b9c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-6004 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:51:04Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Birds |
| spelling | doaj.art-401a15f9848a4009ac5685cabee9b9c52023-11-22T12:13:13ZengMDPI AGBirds2673-60042021-08-012328530110.3390/birds2030021Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw SpeciesPizza Ka Yee Chow0James R. Davies1Awani Bapat2Auguste M. P. von Bayern3Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, GermanyFood availability may vary spatially and temporally within an environment. Efficiency in locating alternative food sources using spatial information (e.g., distribution patterns) may vary according to a species’ diet and habitat specialisation. Hypothetically, more generalist species would learn faster than more specialist species due to being more explorative when changes occur. We tested this hypothesis in two closely related macaw species, differing in their degree of diet and habitat specialisation; the more generalist Great Green Macaw and the more specialist Blue-throated Macaw. We examined their spatial pattern learning performance under predictable temporal and spatial change, using a ‘poke box’ that contained hidden food placed within wells. Each week, the rewarded wells formed two patterns (A and B), which were changed on a mid-week schedule. We found that the two patterns varied in their difficulty. We also found that the more generalist Great Green Macaws took fewer trials to learn the easier pattern and made more mean correct responses in the difficult pattern than the more specialist Blue-throated Macaws, thus supporting our hypothesis. The better learning performance of the Great Green Macaws may be explained by more exploration and trading-off accuracy for speed. These results suggest how variation in diet and habitat specialisation may relate to a species’ ability to adapt to spatial variation in food availability.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6004/2/3/21parrots<i>Ara ambiguus</i><i>Ara glaucogularis</i>memoryforaginggeneralist |
| spellingShingle | Pizza Ka Yee Chow James R. Davies Awani Bapat Auguste M. P. von Bayern Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species Birds parrots <i>Ara ambiguus</i> <i>Ara glaucogularis</i> memory foraging generalist |
| title | Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species |
| title_full | Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species |
| title_fullStr | Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species |
| title_short | Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species |
| title_sort | tracking changes of hidden food spatial pattern learning in two macaw species |
| topic | parrots <i>Ara ambiguus</i> <i>Ara glaucogularis</i> memory foraging generalist |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6004/2/3/21 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pizzakayeechow trackingchangesofhiddenfoodspatialpatternlearningintwomacawspecies AT jamesrdavies trackingchangesofhiddenfoodspatialpatternlearningintwomacawspecies AT awanibapat trackingchangesofhiddenfoodspatialpatternlearningintwomacawspecies AT augustempvonbayern trackingchangesofhiddenfoodspatialpatternlearningintwomacawspecies |