Memory in Food Caching Animals

Kamil, Alan C.; Gould, Kristy

doi:10.1016/b978-012370509-9.00062-0

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 125 publications

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“…As reviewed by Clayton & Emery (), De Kort et al . (), Grodzinski & Clayton (), Kamil & Gould (), Raby & Clayton () and Pravosudov & Roth (), scatter‐hoarding animals possess an array of cognitive abilities that allow them to assess, anticipate, and adjust to specific contexts.…”

Section: Scatter‐hoarding Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All of these adaptations involve sophisticated cognitive abilities (Kamil & Gould, ; Grodzinski & Clayton, ; Raby & Clayton, ). Although early studies of spatial memory emphasized the use of landmarks to recover caches (e.g.…”

Section: Scatter‐hoarding Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although early studies of spatial memory emphasized the use of landmarks to recover caches (e.g. Vander Wall, ), recent work suggests flexible use of proximate cues and memory‐based triangulation from more distant objects (Lavenex et al ., ; Kamil & Gould, ; Waisman & Jacobs, ; Raby & Clayton, ), as well as the use of autobiographical, episodic memory and a capacity to project and plan for future needs under varying conditions (Clayton, Bussey & Dickinson, ; Leutgeb et al ., ; Correia, Dickinson & Clayton, ; Raby et al ., ; Cheke & Clayton, ). In addition to current conditions and anticipated needs, caching behaviours are influenced by previous experiences with conspecifics and the hoarder's past experience as a pilferer or as a victim of pilferage (Emery & Clayton, ; Leaver, ).…”

Section: Scatter‐hoarding Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seed fate and decision‐making processes in scatter‐hoarding rodents

2015

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A mechanistic understanding of seed movement and survival is important both for the development of theoretical models of plant population dynamics, spatial spread, and community assembly, and for the conservation and management of plant communities under global change. While models of wind-borne seed dispersal have advanced rapidly over the past two decades, models for animal-mediated dispersal have failed to make similar progress due to their dependence on interspecific interactions and complex, context-dependent behaviours. In this review, we synthesize the literature on seed dispersal and consumption by scatter-hoarding, granivorous rodents and outline a strategy for development of a general mechanistic seed-fate model in these systems. Our review decomposes seed dispersal and survival into six distinct sub-processes (exposure, harvest, allocation, preparation, placement, and recovery), and identifies nine intermediate (latent) variables that link physical state variables (e.g. seed and animal traits, habitat structure) to decisions regarding seed allocation to hoarding or consumption, cache placement and management, and deployment of radicle-pruning or embryo excision behaviours. We also highlight specific areas where research on these intermediate relationships is needed to improve our mechanistic understanding of scatter-hoarder behaviour. Finally, we outline a strategy to combine detailed studies on individual functional relationships with seed-tracking experiments in an iterative, hierarchical Bayesian framework to construct, refine, and test mechanistic models for context-dependent, scatter-hoarder-mediated seed fate.

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Section: Scatter‐hoarding Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scatter‐hoarding Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scatter‐hoarding Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seed fate and decision‐making processes in scatter‐hoarding rodents

2015

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“…For scatter-hoarding to emerge as an evolutionarily stable strategy, competing hoarders must either maintain a significant advantage over other animals in recovering their own caches [42], or they must maintain caches as a quasi-communal resource through a system of reciprocal pilferage [43]. Many scatter-hoarding animals possess exceptional spatial memories [44], allowing them to actively manage and selectively consume their caches over periods ranging from hours to years [45][46][47]. However, while memory does confer a recovery advantage in at least some cases (e.g., [48][49][50]), pilferage remains a risk, even in these systems [43,51].…”

Section: Scatter-hoarding As a Behavioral And Evolutionary Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions among Shade, Caching Behavior, and Predation Risk May Drive Seed Trait Evolution in Scatter-Hoarded Plants

2020

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Although dispersal is critical to plant life history, the relationships between seed traits and dispersal success in animal-dispersed plants remain unclear due to complex interactions among the effects of seed traits, habitat structure, and disperser behavior. We propose that in plants dispersed by scatter-hoarding granivores, seed trait evolution may have been driven by selective pressures that arise from interactions between seedling shade intolerance and predator-mediated caching behavior. Using an optimal foraging model that accounts for cache concealment, hoarder memory, and perceived predation risk, we show that hoarders can obtain cache-recovery advantages by placing caches in moderately risky locations that force potential pilferers to engage in high levels of vigilance. Our model also demonstrates that the level of risk needed to optimally protect a cache increases with the value of the cached food item. If hoarders perceive less sheltered, high-light conditions to be more risky and use this information to protect their caches, then shade-intolerant plants may increase their fitness by producing seeds with traits valued by hoarders. Consistent with this hypothesis, shade tolerance in scatter-hoarded tree species is inversely related to the value of their seeds as perceived by a scatter-hoarding rodent.

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“…Kamil and Gould (2008) note that there is a negative relationship between the cognitive demands of a cache recovery strategy and resistance of the strategy to competitors for the caches. Under conditions of high cache loss, increased cognitive abilities may be favored despite the large metabolic costs such cognitive abilities incur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Memory for Multiple Cache Locations and Prey Quantities in a Food-Hoarding Songbird

2012

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Most animals can discriminate between pairs of numbers that are each less than four without training. However, North Island robins (Petroica longipes), a food-hoarding songbird endemic to New Zealand, can discriminate between quantities of items as high as eight without training. Here we investigate whether robins are capable of other complex quantity discrimination tasks. We test whether their ability to discriminate between small quantities declines with (1) the number of cache sites containing prey rewards and (2) the length of time separating cache creation and retrieval (retention interval). Results showed that subjects generally performed above-chance expectations. They were equally able to discriminate between different combinations of prey quantities that were hidden from view in 2, 3, and 4 cache sites from between 1, 10, and 60 s. Overall results indicate that North Island robins can process complex quantity information involving more than two discrete quantities of items for up to 1 min long retention intervals without training.

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Memory in Food Caching Animals

Cited by 15 publications

References 125 publications

Seed fate and decision‐making processes in scatter‐hoarding rodents

Seed fate and decision‐making processes in scatter‐hoarding rodents

Interactions among Shade, Caching Behavior, and Predation Risk May Drive Seed Trait Evolution in Scatter-Hoarded Plants

Memory for Multiple Cache Locations and Prey Quantities in a Food-Hoarding Songbird

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