Kea (Nestor notabilis) consider spatial relationships between objects in the support problem

The ‘Support Problem’ is a benchmark test to investigate the understanding of spatial relationships between objects. We tested kea parrots'' performance in a paradigm that has previously been studied in primates. Kea perform comparably well to tamarins when they are confronted with a choice between two support devices, one of which has a reward resting on it and the other slightly next to it, or when given a choice between a continuous and a disrupted support. Kea did better than chimpanzees in some tasks in which the perceptual connection of the food to the support was altered. The results indicate that kea are capable of assessing the spatial means–end relationships of this problem spontaneously and in a way that is comparable with primates.     

Das Spielverhalten der Keas (Nestor notabilis Gould) des Zürcher Zoos

This study uses a new definition of play behaviour to find out play sequences and the elements the kea uses during play. 14 different keas (2 pairs with 3 and 4 chicks and 3 adults) were observed during 420 h. Observations were made by filming (16 mm), photographing and by speaking sequences on tape-recorder. The observations showed that it was almost always possible to separate play sequences from other behaviour. Some difficulties arose because the behaviour sequences of the kea have a high percentage of variance. To prove that the definition of play is really useful one should use a species whose behaviour is largely innate and not as adaptive as in the kea. With such a species the sequences of “normal” behaviour would be well defined, while the sequences of play behaviour should show no order.     

Vocal repertoire of the New Zealand kea parrot Nestor notabilis

The unique alpine-living kea parrot Nestor notabilis has been the focus of numerous cognitive studies,but its communication system has so far been largely neglected.We examined 2,884 calls recorded in New Zealand's Southern Alps.Based on audio and visual spectrographic differences,these calls were categorised into seven distinct call types:the non-oscillating ‘screech' contact call and ‘mew'; and the oscillating ‘trill',‘chatter',‘warble' and ‘whistle'; and a hybrid ‘screech-trill'.Most of these calls contained aspects that were individually unique,in addition to potentially encoding for an individual's sex and age.Additionally,for each recording,the sender's previous and next calls were noted,as well as any response given by conspecifics.We found that the previous and next calls made by the sender were most often of the same type,and that the next most likely preceding and/or following call type was the screech call,a contact call which sounds like the 'kee-ah' from which the bird's name derives.As a social bird capable of covering large distances over visually obstructive terrain,long distance contact calls may be of considerable importance for social cohesion.Contact calls allow kea to locate conspecifics and congregate in temporary groups for social activities.The most likely response to any given call was a screech,usually followed by the same type of call as the initial call made by the sender,although responses differed depending on the age of the caller.The exception was the warble,the kea's play call,to which the most likely response was another warble.Being the most common call type,as well as the default response to another call,it appears that the ‘contagious' screech contact call plays a central role in kea vocal communication and social cohesion.     

Navigating a tool end in a specific direction: stick-tool use in kea (Nestor notabilis)

This study depicts how captive kea, New Zealand parrots, which are not known to use tools in the wild, employ a stick-tool to retrieve a food reward after receiving demonstration trials. Four out of six animals succeeded in doing so despite physical (beak curvature) and ecological (no stick-like materials used during nest construction) constraints when handling elongated objects. We further demonstrate that the same animals can thereafter direct the functional end of a stick-tool into a desired direction, aiming at a positive option while avoiding a negative one.     

Visual artificial grammar learning: comparative research on humans, kea (Nestor notabilis) and pigeons (Columba livia)

Artificial grammar learning (AGL) provides a useful tool for exploring rule learning strategies linked to general purpose pattern perception. To be able to directly compare performance of humans with other species with different memory capacities, we developed an AGL task in the visual domain. Presenting entire visual patterns simultaneously instead of sequentially minimizes the amount of required working memory. This approach allowed us to evaluate performance levels of two bird species, kea (Nestor notabilis) and pigeons (Columba livia), in direct comparison to human participants. After being trained to discriminate between two types of visual patterns generated by rules at different levels of computational complexity and presented on a computer screen, birds and humans received further training with a series of novel stimuli that followed the same rules, but differed in various visual features from the training stimuli. Most avian and all human subjects continued to perform well above chance during this initial generalization phase, suggesting that they were able to generalize learned rules to novel stimuli. However, detailed testing with stimuli that violated the intended rules regarding the exact number of stimulus elements indicates that neither bird species was able to successfully acquire the intended pattern rule. Our data suggest that, in contrast to humans, these birds were unable to master a simple rule above the finite-state level, even with simultaneous item presentation and despite intensive training.     

Pulluterina nestoris,an anoplocephalid cestode parasite of the kea,Nestor notabilis

Abstract

Pulluterina nestoris Smithers is recorded from a wild kea, Nestor notabilis Gould (Aves: Psittaciformes), in New Zealand for the first time. The hitherto unknown scolex is described, and confirms the position of P. nestoris in the Anoplocephalidae. Details of proglottid morphology are discussed, and an amended generic diagnosis is given.     

Foraging Ontogeny is not Linked to Delayed Maturation in Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

The acquisition of complex foraging behaviors by young is a proposed cause of a prolonged juvenile phase in many vertebrates, including primates. I compared the foraging behaviors of infant, juvenile and adult squirrel monkeys to determine if significant age‐related differences in foraging behavior and efficiency were present. Infants and juveniles differed from each other in patterns of prey and fruit foraging, but few differences existed between juveniles and adults. Despite differing in the use of foraging substrates, young juveniles (8–12 mo) were as efficient as older juveniles (1–4 yr) and adults at capturing and processing large prey. Young juveniles (<1 yr) were limited in their ability to consume husked palm fruits due to an inability to peel them to obtain pulp. By 1 yr of age, however, foraging behaviors of adults and juveniles were nearly indistinguishable. The absence of meaningful differences between adults and juvenile foraging is not consistent with the hypothesis that the need to develop foraging skills accounts for the pattern of extended juvenility in squirrel monkeys.     

鳜稚鱼摄食行为的社会学习

社会学习是动物快速获得新行为的有效途径.本研究对鳜稚鱼摄食行为的社会学习进行了检验和分析.将500尾未驯化鱼平均分配到实验组和对照组中,并在实验组中另外加入50尾已驯化鱼作为示范鱼.采用分批投饵方法群体驯化两组实验鱼摄食死饵料鱼,测量两组实验鱼摄食每批死饵料鱼的群体袭击反应时间和群体袭击持续时间.结果显示,实验组的群体袭击反应时间比对照组的稳定;实验组的群体袭击持续时间比对照组的短,且在第1次、5次、6次训练时存在显著差异.由此分析鳜稚鱼具有社会学习能力,示范鱼可能通过局域增强和反应易化社会学习过程,分别促进未驯化鱼游到水面摄食和直接袭击死饵料鱼.社会学习驯食方法能够提高群体驯食方法的驯化效率.     

Roosting and Foraging Social Structure of the Endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis)

Social dynamics are an important but poorly understood aspect of bat ecology. Herein we use a combination of graph theoretic and spatial approaches to describe the roost and social network characteristics and foraging associations of an Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) maternity colony in an agricultural landscape in Ohio, USA. We tracked 46 bats to 50 roosts (423 total relocations) and collected 2,306 foraging locations for 40 bats during the summers of 2009 and 2010. We found the colony roosting network was highly centralized in both years and that roost and social networks differed significantly from random networks. Roost and social network structure also differed substantially between years. Social network structure appeared to be unrelated to segregation of roosts between age classes. For bats whose individual foraging ranges were calculated, many shared foraging space with at least one other bat. Compared across all possible bat dyads, 47% and 43% of the dyads showed more than expected overlap of foraging areas in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Colony roosting area differed between years, but the roosting area centroid shifted only 332 m. In contrast, whole colony foraging area use was similar between years. Random roost removal simulations suggest that Indiana bat colonies may be robust to loss of a limited number of roosts but may respond differently from year to year. Our study emphasizes the utility of graphic theoretic and spatial approaches for examining the sociality and roosting behavior of bats. Detailed knowledge of the relationships between social and spatial aspects of bat ecology could greatly increase conservation effectiveness by allowing more structured approaches to roost and habitat retention for tree-roosting, socially-aggregating bat species.     

The Ontogeny of Social Behavior and Body Coloration in the African Cichlid Fish Haplochromis burtoni

The ontogeny of behavioral patterns and body coloration are described for the African cichlid fish, Haplochromis burtoni. The development of particular color patterns correlates directly with appearance of behavioral patterns which “use” those color patterns. There is a flexible timetable associated with these events which depends on both social and environmental factors.     

Contact Kairomones Mediating the Foraging Behavior of the Aphid Hyperparasitoid Alloxysta victrix (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Charipidae)

A variety of host-related substances was assessed in relation to their ability to induce arrestment and antennal examination behavior in adult females of the aphid hyperparasitoid Alloxysta victrix (Westwood). In laboratory bioassays, whole-body homogenates of both unparasitized host aphids [Myzus persicae (Sulzer)] and those parasitized by the primary parasitoid Aphidius colemani Viereck failed to elicit a response. However, significant kairomonal activity was associated with aphid cornicle secretions, aphid honeydew, and solvent extracts of parasitized aphids. Solvent extracts of unparasitized aphids (in either hexane or butan-1-ol) failed to elicit arrestment or antennal examination behavior in hyperparsitoid females. The response to aphid honeydew was significantly lower in experienced females than in naive individuals, suggesting that even relatively strong innate responses can be modified by learning.     

Foraging Behavior in the Arboreal Boid Corallus grenadensis

Corallus grenadensis is an arboreal boa endemic to the Grenada Bank. Thirty-five encounters with boas resulted in 17.65 hours of observations, including 6.3 hours of video-tape (which included two acts of predation). Boas under 100 cm are largely active foragers that move slowly through bushes and trees and tongue-flick leaf and branch surfaces apparently seeking chemosensory evidence of nocturnally quiescent lizard (Anolis) prey. Significantly more search time was directed to branches below the snake rather than to either the branches supporting the snake or to those above the snake, and tongue-flick rates were significantly higher for moving snakes than for those that were stationary. Smaller snakes prey on nocturnally quiescent lizards and they spent more time moving than did large snakes that feed on nocturnally active rodents and often employ an ambush foraging strategy. Once visual and, presumably, thermal information was received from a sleeping anole, C. grenadensis adopted a lengthy stalking process devoid of tongue-flicks. Snakes approached inactive lizards from adjacent branches with great stealth, moving at a rate of about 1 cm/min. The strike was made from close range (within 3 cm), and the prey was never released once contact was made. We conclude that, if chemosensory cues successfully lead a treeboa to a visual encounter with a sleeping lizard, subsequent behavior ensures a high rate of predation success.     

Nectar Yeasts in the Tall Larkspur Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) and Effects on Components of Pollinator Foraging Behavior

Microorganisms frequently colonize the nectar of angiosperm species. Though capable of altering a suite of traits important for pollinator attraction, few studies exist that test the degree to which they mediate pollinator foraging behavior. The objective of our study was to fill this gap by assessing the abundance and diversity of yeasts associated with the perennial larkspur Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) and testing whether their presence affected components of pollinator foraging behavior. Yeasts frequently colonized D. barbeyi nectar, populating 54–77% of flowers examined depending on site. Though common, the yeast community was species-poor, represented by a single species, Metschnikowia reukaufii. Female-phase flowers of D. barbeyi were more likely to have higher densities of yeasts in comparison to male-phase flowers. Pollinators were likely vectors of yeasts, as virgin (unvisited) flowers rarely contained yeasts compared to flowers open to pollinator visitation, which were frequently colonized. Finally, pollinators responded positively to the presence of yeasts. Bombus foragers both visited and probed more flowers inoculated with yeasts in comparison to uninoculated controls. Taken together, our results suggest that variation in the occurrence and density of nectar-inhabiting yeasts have the potential to alter components of pollinator foraging behavior linked to pollen transfer and plant fitness.     

Social Organization and Foraging Behaviour of the Fishing Bat,Noctilio leporinus (Chiroptera:Noctilionidae)

Female Noctilio leporinus roost in groups that remain together, associated with the same individuals and in the same location, for several years regardless of turnover in resident males and movements of the group to alternate roosts. Females scent marked themselves with the sub-axial secretions of other females by rubbing their heads beneath other bats' wings. Males residing with female groups retain their tenure for two or more reproductive seasons. Bachelor males roost solitarily or in small groups apart from females. Together, these characteristics appear to form the basis of a polygynous social organization. Female N. leporinus foraged solitarily or in small groups with other females from the same roost group. Stable female roost groups forage together and return to the same foraging areas over long periods of time. Bats assembled into small groups outside of the roost and flew together to foraging areas. Females from one roost group were monitored using the same foraging area for over a year. Bats foraged close enough to each other to communicate the location of prey either passively or actively. Roosts were not used as information centres, as bats rarely followed each other from the roost to forage. Males foraged solitarily, utilizing areas that were different from, and larger than, those of the females.     

Raiding and Foraging Behavior of the Blood-Red Ant,Formica sanguinea Latr. (Hymenoptera,Formicidae)

In this paper we report the results of a detailed study on the behavioral ecology of slave raiding and foraging activity in the European blood-red ant, Formica sanguinea Latr. The field study was conducted over an unbroken period of 78 days, during which the activity of two dulotic colonies of this facultative slave-maker was observed for 10 h each day. It was possible to observe 26 raids distributed over 23 days, among which 18 were followed by the sacking of nests belonging to the species F. cunicularia, F. fusca, and Lasius emarginatus, whereas 8 failed. Simple, continuous, and simultaneous raids occurred. We recorded the timing, frequency, distance, and direction of slave raids, including the number of participants and the type of booty. Particular attention was devoted to the scouting behavior and raiding organization. Moreover, every day, we observed foraging and predatory behavior, during which adult insects (mainly ants), seeds, and berries were retrieved to the dulotic colonies. On the basis of our observations F. sanguinea seems to be a very efficient slave-maker and predatory species of the Raptiformica subgenus. Moreover, its dulotic behavior may be regarded as a continuation and an expansion of its foraging and predatory behavior, as predicted by Darwin's hypothesis for the origin and evolution of slavery in ants.     

Fine-Scale Variability in Harbor Seal Foraging Behavior

Understanding the variability of foraging behavior within a population of predators is important for determining their role in the ecosystem and how they may respond to future ecosystem changes. However, such variability has seldom been studied in harbor seals on a fine spatial scale (<30 km). We used a combination of standard and Bayesian generalized linear mixed models to explore how environmental variables influenced the dive behavior of harbor seals. Time-depth recorders were deployed on harbor seals from two haul-out sites in the Salish Sea in 2007 (n = 18) and 2008 (n = 11). Three behavioral bout types were classified from six dive types within each bout; however, one of these bout types was related to haul-out activity and was excluded from analyses. Deep foraging bouts (Type I) were the predominant type used throughout the study; however, variation in the use of bout types was observed relative to haul-out site, season, sex, and light (day/night). The proportional use of Type I and Type II (shallow foraging/traveling) bouts differed dramatically between haul-out sites, seasons, sexes, and whether it was day or night; individual variability between seals also contributed to the observed differences. We hypothesize that this variation in dive behavior was related to habitat or prey specialization by seals from different haul-out sites, or individual variability between seals in the study area. The results highlight the potential influence of habitat and specialization on the foraging behavior of harbor seals, and may help explain the variability in diet that is observed between different haul-out site groups in this population.     

栗喉蜂虎捕食差异

2010年4～5月和2011年4～6月,用焦点动物取样法对云南省保山市潞江镇怒江河谷栗喉蜂虎捕食差异进行了观察。对栗喉蜂虎雌性成年鸟、雄性成年鸟、青年鸟捕食种类、数量、成功率、食物组成、食物资源量、处理食物成功率及处理时间进行了统计。结果表明,栗喉蜂虎捕食种类包括7类昆虫,以膜翅目Hymenoptera、蜻蜓目Odonate、鳞翅目Lepidoptera昆虫为主;成年雄鸟捕食频次高于成年雌鸟和青年鸟;成年鸟与青年鸟处理食物成功率无显著差异,但二者捕食成功率和处理食物时间差异显著。     

Development of Social Behavior in the Fallow Deer (Dama dama)

An einer halbwilden Herde des Damhirsches (Dama dama) wurde 19 Monate lang das Sozialverhalten, vor allem die Bedeutung frühontogenetischer Erfahrungen für die Entwicklung des arttypischen Verhaltens untersucht. Zahlreiche optische, akustische und Berührungs-Reize dienen der Warnung, der Rangordnung oder der Verständigung zwischen Geschlechtspartnern oder Eltern und Kindern. Isoliert aufgezogene Jungtiere reagierten in typischen Situationen mit den gleichen Signalen wie in der Herde aufgewachsene und beantworteten, in die Herde gebracht, die arttypischen Signale der anderen richtig. Allerdings wurden diese Tiere von der Herde nicht aufgenommen und standen noch nach 3 Jahren abseits. Die isolierte Aufzucht beeinträchtigt also das Sozialleben stark, indem es die Bindung an Artgenossen verhindert. Diese Bindung ist aber wohl nötig, wo bestimmte Verhaltenselemente von Artgenossen gelernt werden müssen.     

Foraging Behavior of Lacewing Larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on Plants with Divergent Architectures

We investigated the effects of plant architecture on predator–prey interactions by quantifying the behavior of green lacewing larvae on perennial grasses with divergent leaf architectures. Crested wheatgrass produces flat, broad leaves similar to those of wheat, whereas Indian ricegrass bears linear leaves that are tightly rolled inward. In the absence of prey, lacewing time budgets and residence times were similar on the two grasses, although predators tended to search longer on crested wheatgrass. On plants infested with the Russian wheat aphid, lacewing larvae dislodged, contacted, and captured significantly more aphids on Indian ricegrass than on crested wheatgrass. Comparisons between aphid-free and aphid-infested plants suggest that differences in plant architecture modified prey accessibility rather than predator movement. Aphids on seedlings and mature plants of crested wheatgrass frequently occurred in concealed locations, such as in the rolls of immature leaves or in the blade–sheath junctions of mature leaves; aphids on Indian ricegrass were more likely to feed in exposed locations. Our focal-animal observations were consistent with results from population-level experiments and suggest that short-term, behavioral studies may help predict the effectiveness of predators at larger spatial and temporal scales.