Learning and conservation behavior: an introduction and overview

Schakner, Zachary A.; Blumstein, Daniel T.

doi:10.1017/cbo9781139627078.005

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 114 publications

(123 reference statements)

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“…Social learning has a role in each of these aims and has therefore been suggested to be important in conservation contexts (Whitehead 2010; Greggor et al 2014b; Schakner and Blumstein 2016; see Table 1). Meanwhile, there has been progress in recognizing the value of social learning in conservation on the international policy stage.…”

Section: The Role Of Social Learning In Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Schakner and Blumstein (2016) put forth theoretical tactics for preventing learning that could, in principle, be adapted to social learning situations. They propose that populations can occupy one of several learning stages with regards to a specific behaviour—pre-learning, mid-learning, and post learning—each of which may be targeted with different tactics by conservationists.…”

Section: The Role Of Social Learning In Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where and when animals learn are important to conservation because these can allow animals to acquire appropriate behaviour without having to undergo genetic change (Brown 2013) and can be used as a tool in conservation management (Custance et al 2002; Whitehead 2010; Greggor et al 2014b; Schakner and Blumstein 2016). However, learning is still under-utilized in most conservation contexts, including species translocations, invasive species control and human-wildlife conflict (Bell 2016; Berger-Tal et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harnessing learning biases is essential for applying social learning in conservation

Greggor

Thornton

Clayton

2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Social learning can influence how animals respond to anthropogenic changes in the environment, determining whether animals survive novel threats and exploit novel resources or produce maladaptive behaviour and contribute to human-wildlife conflict. Predicting where social learning will occur and manipulating its use are, therefore, important in conservation, but doing so is not straightforward. Learning is an inherently biased process that has been shaped by natural selection to prioritize important information and facilitate its efficient uptake. In this regard, social learning is no different from other learning processes because it too is shaped by perceptual filters, attentional biases and learning constraints that can differ between habitats, species, individuals and contexts. The biases that constrain social learning are not understood well enough to accurately predict whether or not social learning will occur in many situations, which limits the effective use of social learning in conservation practice. Nevertheless, we argue that by tapping into the biases that guide the social transmission of information, the conservation applications of social learning could be improved. We explore the conservation areas where social learning is highly relevant and link them to biases in the cues and contexts that shape social information use. The resulting synthesis highlights many promising areas for collaboration between the fields and stresses the importance of systematic reviews of the evidence surrounding social learning practices.

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Section: The Role Of Social Learning In Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Role Of Social Learning In Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harnessing learning biases is essential for applying social learning in conservation

Greggor

Thornton

Clayton

2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…). Such unrealistic stimuli are unlikely to stimulate the fear conditioning that likely occurs naturally when an animal survives a real predatory encounter (Schakner and Blumstein ). Notably, one successful prerelease predator training program which did result in improved postrelease survival involved the exposure of houbara bustards ( Chlamydotis undulata ) to live predators prior to their release (van Heezik et al.…”

Section: Why Predator Avoidance Training Involving Simulated Encountementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, predator avoidance trials in captivity rarely use real predators but instead have primarily used harassment with stimuli such as with rubber bands, water pistols, stuffed animals mounted on wheels, and loud noises (McLean et al 2000). Such unrealistic stimuli are unlikely to stimulate the fear conditioning that likely occurs naturally when an animal survives a real predatory encounter (Schakner and Blumstein 2016). Notably, one successful prerelease predator training program which did result in improved postrelease survival involved the exposure of houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata) to live predators prior to their release (van Heezik et al 1999).…”

Section: Why Predator Avoidance Training Involving Simulated Encountementioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing natural selection to tackle the problem of prey naïveté

Moseby

Blumstein

Letnic

2015

Evolutionary Applications

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Many populations are threatened or endangered because of excessive predation resulting from individuals' inability to recognize, avoid, or escape alien predators. Such prey naïveté is often attributed to the absence of prior experience and co‐evolution between native prey and introduced predators. Many reintroduction programs focus on reducing predation rate by excluding introduced predators, a focus which ignores, and indeed exacerbates, the problem of prey naïveté. We argue for a new paradigm in reintroduction biology that expands the focus from predator control to kick‐starting learning and evolutionary processes between alien predators and reintroduced prey. By exposing reintroduced prey to carefully controlled levels of alien predators, in situ predation could enhance reintroduction success by facilitating acquisition of learned antipredator responses and through natural selection for appropriate antipredator traits. This in situ predator exposure should be viewed as a long‐term process but is likely to be the most efficient and expedient way to improve prey responses and assist in broadscale recovery of threatened species.

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Exposure of Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) to humans reduces behavioural responses to potential threats

Zukerman,

Berger‐Tal

2024

People and Nature

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The spatial expansion of human populations has increased the overlap between humans and wildlife, leading to the greater tolerance of many wildlife species to humans. However, our current understanding of the consequences of such tolerance is limited. In particular, we lack information on whether reduced behavioural responses to humans are indicative of reduced responses to other potential threats. We made use of a unique natural system comprising geographically adjacent, but nevertheless separate, populations of the threatened Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) that are exposed to different levels of human disturbance to test the effects of exposure to humans on ibex behavioural responses to other stimuli. We measured flight initiation distance (FID) and alert distance (AD) in males approached by four different stimuli: a human, a human with a dog, a novel object, and a leopard model. Both FID and AD decreased for all stimuli as the human exposure level increased. Ibex in areas that are highly exposed to humans reduced their behavioural responses to humans more strongly compared to other stimuli. These findings suggest that tolerance for humans may be the product of several complementary behavioural mechanisms (such as habituation and non‐random dispersal). Policy implications. Our findings align with the concern that animals highly exposed to human beings may be less capable of surviving in the wild. Our results also emphasize that the interactions between people and wild animals (such as feeding them) determine the behavioural responses of wild animals, shaping patterns of human–wildlife conflict and co‐existence. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Learning and conservation behavior: an introduction and overview

Cited by 14 publications

References 114 publications

Harnessing learning biases is essential for applying social learning in conservation

Harnessing learning biases is essential for applying social learning in conservation

Harnessing natural selection to tackle the problem of prey naïveté

Exposure of Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) to humans reduces behavioural responses to potential threats

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