Associative learning by locusts: pairing of visual cues with consumption of protein and carbohydrate

Raubenheimer, David; Tucker, D. F.

doi:10.1006/anbe.1997.0542

Cited by 67 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…2), a behavior that can readily be attributed to associative learning (6,7). In contrast, the Random grasshoppers could not learn to restrict visits to the balanced food (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Learning improves growth rate in grasshoppers

Dukas

Bernays

2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

176

125

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To quantify the adaptive significance of insect learning, we documented the behavior and growth rate of grasshoppers (Schistocerca americana) in an environment containing two artificial food types, one providing a balanced diet of protein and carbohydrate, which maximizes growth, and the other being carbohydratedeficient, which is unsuitable for growth. Grasshoppers in the Learning treatment experienced a predictable environment, where the spatial location, taste, and color of each food source remained constant throughout the experiment. In contrast, grasshoppers of the Random treatment developed in a temporally varying environment, where the spatial location, taste, and color of the balanced and deficient food types randomly alternated twice each day. Our results show that the grasshoppers that could employ associative learning for diet choice experienced higher growth rates than individuals of the Random treatment, demonstrating the adaptive significance of learning in a small short-lived insect.

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“…2), a behavior that can readily be attributed to associative learning (6,7). In contrast, the Random grasshoppers could not learn to restrict visits to the balanced food (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A ssociative learning has been documented and subjected to intense research in various nonsocial insects, including flies (1-3), parasitoid wasps (4,5), and grasshoppers (6,7). Insect behavior, however, appears to be dominated by innate preferences and patterns (8), and it has not been clear whether insect learning significantly improves fitness (9,10).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning improves growth rate in grasshoppers

Dukas

Bernays

2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

176

125

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“…Similarly, locusts can make associations between olfactory, gustatory or visual cues with specific nutrients, including sterols, proteins or carbohydrates (Simpson and White, 1990;Raubenheimer and Tucker, 1997;Behmer et al, 1999). Moreover, post-ingestive feedback was shown to contribute to the acquisition of an aversive association towards unsuitable sterols (Behmer et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A long-latency aversive learning mechanism enables locusts to avoid odours associated with the consequences of ingesting toxic food

Simões

Ott

Niven

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYAvoiding food that contains toxins is crucial for the survival of many animals, particularly herbivores, because many plants defend themselves with toxins. Some animals can learn to avoid food containing toxins not through its taste but by the toxinsʼ effects following ingestion, though how they do so remains unclear. We studied how desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria), which are generalist herbivores, form post-ingestive aversive memories and use them to make appropriate olfactory-based decisions in a Y-maze. Locusts form an aversion gradually to an odour paired with food containing the toxin nicotine hydrogen tartrate (NHT), suggesting the involvement of a long-latency associative mechanism. Pairing of odour and toxin-free food accompanied by NHT injections at different latencies showed that locusts could form an association between an odour and toxic malaise, which could be separated by up to 30min. Tasting but not swallowing the food, or the temporal separation of odour and food, prevents the formation of these long-latency associations, showing that they are post-ingestive. A second associative mechanism not contingent upon feeding operates only when odour presentation is simultaneous with NHT injection. Postingestive memory formation is not disrupted by exposure to a novel odour alone but can be if the odour is accompanied by simultaneous NHT injection. Thus, the timing with which food, odour and toxin are encountered whilst foraging is likely to influence memory formation and subsequent foraging decisions. Therefore, locusts can form specific long-lasting aversive olfactory associations that they can use to avoid toxin-containing foods whilst foraging.

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“…Learning also plays a role, and in some cases animals are able to associate their current nutritional state with food cues previously associated with particular nutrients (e.g. Simpson and White 1990;Raubenheimer and Tucker 1997;Booth and Thibault 2000).…”

Section: Mechanisms Of Nutritional Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nature of nutrition: a unifying framework

Simpson

Raubenheimer

2011

Aust. J. Zool.

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Abstract. We present a graphical approach, which we believe can help to integrate nutrition into the broader biological sciences, and introduce generality into the applied nutritional sciences. This 'Geometric Framework' takes account of the fact that animals need multiple nutrients in changing amounts and balance, and that nutrients come packaged in foods that are often hard to find, dangerous to subdue and costly to process. We then show how the Geometric Framework has been used to understand the links between nutrition and relevant aspects of the biology of individual animals. These aspects include the physiological mechanisms that direct the nutritional interactions of the animal with its environment, and the fitness consequences of these interactions. Having considered the implications of diet for individuals, we show that these effects can translate into the collective behaviour of groups and societies, and in turn ramify throughout food webs to influence the structure of ecosystems.

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Associative learning by locusts: pairing of visual cues with consumption of protein and carbohydrate

Cited by 67 publications

References 31 publications

Learning improves growth rate in grasshoppers

Learning improves growth rate in grasshoppers

A long-latency aversive learning mechanism enables locusts to avoid odours associated with the consequences of ingesting toxic food

The nature of nutrition: a unifying framework

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