Reinforcement and learning |
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Authors: | Maria R Servedio Stein A Sæther Glenn-Peter Sætre |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, CB#3280 Coker Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA 2. Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 40, 6666 ZG, Heteren, The Netherlands 3. Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Uppsala University, Nordbyv?gen 18D, SE 75236, Uppsala, Sweden 4. Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
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Abstract: | Evidence has been accumulating to support the process of reinforcement as a potential mechanism in speciation. In many species,
mate choice decisions are influenced by cultural factors, including learned mating preferences (sexual imprinting) or learned
mate attraction signals (e.g., bird song). It has been postulated that learning can have a strong impact on the likelihood
of speciation and perhaps on the process of reinforcement, but no models have explicitly considered learning in a reinforcement
context. We review the evidence that suggests that learning may be involved in speciation and reinforcement, and present a
model of reinforcement via learned preferences. We show that not only can reinforcement occur when preferences are learned
by imprinting, but that such preferences can maintain species differences easily in comparison with both autosomal and sex-linked
genetically inherited preferences. We highlight the need for more explicit study of the connection between the behavioral
process of learning and the evolutionary process of reinforcement in natural systems. |
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Keywords: | Imprinting Learning Preferences Model Reinforcement Speciation |
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