Great tits (Parus major) flexibly learn that herbivore‐induced plant volatiles indicate prey location: An experimental evidence with two tree species

Abstract

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Attraction to Smelly Food in Birds: Insectivorous Birds Discriminate between the Pheromones of Their Prey and Those of Non-Prey Insects

“…DMS is a compound released by phytoplankton when attacked that signals areas of high productivity in the oceans where Procellarifom seabirds can find their prey. In contrast, previous evidence suggests that insectivorous birds that use HIPVs to locate their prey need to learn to associate HIPVs with a foraging experience [86,87]. HIPVs are highly variable, as their composition depends not only on the herbivore species involved but also on the plant species [41].…”

“…Insectivorous birds can feed on different prey species, which feed on different tree species, which release different blends of HIPVs. Therefore, in these generalist predators exposed to such a high variability of HIPVs, the ability to learn to associate a foraging experience with the presence of such indirect chemical cues has been favored over an innate recognition of different volatiles [86,87], as has been observed in predator-prey interactions in insects [88,89]. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have examined whether the detection of such direct chemical cues is innate or may be learned.…”

Exogenous Application of Methyl Jasmonate Increases Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds in Pyrenean Oak Trees, Quercus pyrenaica

“…A third possible explanation could be that the bird species present in the study area may not discriminate between trees emitting herbivore-induced volatiles or uninfested trees. However, blue tits and great tits are the most abundant insectivorous bird species in the study area, so this explanation can be discarded as both species are already known to be attracted to herbivore-infected trees ([ 23 , 24 , 25 , 30 , 51 ], but see [ 52 ]).…”

“…For them, the signal of the presence of insects should be sufficiently generalistic, yet significantly different from the emissions of VOCs released after simple mechanical wounding. As the jasmonic pathway is involved in both processes, the ability to learn to associate a positive foraging experience with the particular blends of HIPVs seems to be favored over an innate recognition of so many different blends of volatiles ([ 15 , 51 , 86 ], but see [ 87 ]). This ability to associate HIPVs with the presence of food, as well as an innate lack of attraction to infested trees, has been previously demonstrated in two experimental studies with naïve great tits [ 51 , 88 ].…”

“…As the jasmonic pathway is involved in both processes, the ability to learn to associate a positive foraging experience with the particular blends of HIPVs seems to be favored over an innate recognition of so many different blends of volatiles ([ 15 , 51 , 86 ], but see [ 87 ]). This ability to associate HIPVs with the presence of food, as well as an innate lack of attraction to infested trees, has been previously demonstrated in two experimental studies with naïve great tits [ 51 , 88 ]. Great tits naïve to foraging in trees were not attracted to herbivore-induced trees, whereas when they experienced foraging experiences, they were able to discriminate between the volatiles of herbivore-infected and uninfected trees, both from native [ 51 , 88 ] and foreign trees species [ 51 ].…”