Olfactory Discrimination Learning in the Virginia Opossum

Tilley, Mark W.; Doolittle, John H.; Mason, Donald J.

doi:10.2466/pms.1966.23.3.845

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The absence of a trials-per-session effect is not in agreement with discrimination experiments with Virginia opossums (Friedman & Marshall, 1965;Tilley et al, 1966) that found better performance under massed practice Le., many trials per session. Thus, the claim that Virginia opossums in particular, and marsupials in general, differ from other mammals in their memory mechanisms (cf.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 58%

“…The choice of one trial per day was based on a similar experiment on pigeons reported by Rescorla, Durlach, and Grau (1985), where they observed rapid context discrimination using activity as the dependent measure. However, there are some suggestions in the literature that opossums (D. virginiana) learn faster under massed rather than spaced trial conditions (Friedman & Marshall, 1965;Tilley, Doolittle, & Mason, 1966).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results of Experiment 1 suggested that our prior unsuccessful attempts to obtain contextual learning in red opossums might have been caused either by the use of relatively similar contexts or by the use of a relatively distributed practice. The latter factor seemed worthwhile pursuing further in light of the seemingly beneficial effect of massed practice on discrimination learning in Virginia opossums (Friedman & Marshall, 1965;Tilley et al, 1966). Also, the literature suggests that at least in some situations (i.e., autoshaping of the pigeon's key-peck response) acquisition speed is inversely related to the number of trials per session under both continuous and partial reinforcement (Papini & Overmier, 1984, 1985.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Context Learning in the Marsupial (<em>Lutreolina Crassicaudata Red Opossum</em>)

Papini¹,

Mustaca²,

Tiscórnia³

et al. 1987

International Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Context learning was studied in the Red Opossum, the marsupial, Lutreolina crassicaudata. In Experiment 1 the animals received four trials per day in two different boxes (contexts): X and Y. Half of the animals received periodic deliveries of a sugar solution ( + ) in one box (X+), but not in the other (Y-); the rest received the opposite training (X-), (Y+). Several behavioral categories were recorded during the final trial in each context. Animals approached the feeder significantly more in the positive context. Experiment 2 was designed to determine the extent to which the number of trials per day affected acquisition. Two groups of animals received differential training with either four or one trial per day. No differences between groups were observed, although in both of them, approach to the feeder was significantly higher in the positive context. The results are discussed in relation to both the role of practice distribution on learning in marsupials, and their potential value of this species for the study of learning processes. RESUMEN: Se estudi6 el aprendizaje contextual en la zarigueya colorada Lutreolina crassicaudata. En el Experimento 1 los animales recibieron cuatro ensayos por dia en dos diferentes cajas de condicionamiento (contextos): X e Y. La mitad de los animales recibian peri6dicamente un monto de soluci6n azucarada en una caja, X+, pero no en la otra, Y-; el resto de los animales recibian la contingencia opuesta, X, Y+. Durante el ultimo ensayo en cada caja se registraron varias categorias de comportamiento. Los animales se acercaron al bebedero significativamente m^en el contexto positivo. El Experimento 2 fue disenado para determinar hasta que punto el nvimero de ensayos por dia afect6 la adquisici6n. Dos grupos de animales recibieron entrenamiento diferencial ya sea con uno o cuatro ensayos por dia. No se observaron diferencias entre grupos, aunque en ambos casos el acercamiento al bebedero fue significativamente mAs frecuente en el contexto positivo. Los resultados se discuten tanto en relaci6n con el papel de la distribuci6n de la pr^ctica sobre el aprendizaje en marsupiales, como con el valor potencial de estas especies para el estudio de los procesos de aprendizaje.Associative and cognitive capabilities of marsupials are poorly known despite the potential importance of this group from the comparative point of view (Bitterman, 1986;Papini, 1986). For instance, most of the experiments on Pavlovian conditioning in marsupials lack appropriate Correspondence should be sent to M.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 58%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Context Learning in the Marsupial (<em>Lutreolina Crassicaudata Red Opossum</em>)

Papini¹,

Mustaca²,

Tiscórnia³

et al. 1987

International Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…Other stimulus dimensions. Tilley, Doolittle, and Mason (1966a) trained four adult American opossums to learn an olfactory discrimination in a T-maze. Walker and Croft (1990) demonstrated that common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) were able to discriminate the urine of conspecifics on the basis of odour.…”

Section: Stimulus Discriminationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The comparative psychology of marsupials

Wynne

McLean

1999

Australian Journal of Psychology

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Outdated views on behavioural evolution held that marsupials should be less "smart" than standard laboratory mammals. Changing attitudes, based on ecological, physiological, and phylogenetic considerations, led to the conclusion that marsupial mammals represent an alternative rather than an inferior mammalian design. We review the available research on marsupial psychology and conclude that the most studied marsupial, the American opossum, may be one of the most successful nonhuman animals ever tested on many standard psychological tasks. The traditional eutherian bias in psychoiogical research on mammals has resulted in most of the few analyses of marsupials being conducted as comparative sidelines to eutherian research. However, the two evolutionary radiations of marsupials (in the Americas, and in Australia) represent a natural experiment that offers great potential for comparative analysis of the relationship between ecological pressures and psychological skills.We thank Cheryl O'Connor and Lyndsay Matthews for providing unpublished manuscripts; Suzan Alptekin. Peter Jarman. and Mauricio Papini for helpful comments on earlier drafts; and the Australian Research Council for financial support for this research.

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“…For example, possums performed as well as carnivores, skunks, and 3 species of monkey in learning to respond to varying position and light as cues for a reward (Kirkby and Williams 1979), but were less successful than cats and rats in learning to negotiate mazes based on visual and tactile cues (Pollard and Lysons 1967). Furthermore, the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) performed poorly in a reward-based test of ability to learn to discriminate between the presence or absence of an odor (Tilley et al 1966). Nevertheless, a strong suspicion that possums can learn to avoid baits is provided by empirical observations made by Hickling (1994) on the decline in efficacy of 1080 baits in annual control operations at Mapara Forest in the central North Island.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learned bait-shyness by possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) towards baits containing cyanide, 1080, cholecalciferol, or brodifacoum

Morgan¹,

Milne²,

O'Connor³

2002

vertebrate_pest_conference

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Around NZ$76 million per annum is presently spent on controlling and researching the introduced brushtail possum in New Zealand. The national control effort is likely to be further increased over the next decade in an attempt to eradicate bovine tuberculosis and to arrest the degradation of key conservation areas. There is a risk that repeated control operations using toxic baits could result in widespread development of learned "bait-shyness," behavior that develops when sublethally poisoned animals are able to link the experience of an illness with the memory of the bait eaten. Four studies are reviewed that aimed to determine the likelihood of possums becoming shy after sublethal doses imparted by different types of toxic bait, and to find solutions to the problem. Captive possums were presented with baits containing sublethal doses of the 4 vertebrate pesticides commonly used. Following a recovery period, possums were presented with lethal baits and their response compared with that of naive possums. Between 15% and 90% of possums previously dosed with sublethal doses of cyanide, 1080, or cholecalciferol developed baitshyness, the proportion being dose and toxicant dependent. Although cholecalciferol induces toxicosis more slowly (i.e., >24 h) than cyanide (5 min) and 1080 (1 h), possums were nevertheless able to associate the effects of this toxicant with consumption of the bait in which it was delivered and avoid eating further baits. However, brodifacoum acts very slowly (1-4 weeks), and possums did not become shy towards baits containing this toxicant after first eating sublethal baits. Shyness induced by either 1080 or cyanide persisted for at least 12 and 24 months respectively, thus jeopardizing the effectiveness of "maintenance" control operations, which can be required every 12 months or less. The persistence of bait-shyness to cholecalciferol remains untested. Use of alternative baits (bait-switching) proved an effective solution for eliminating cyanide-and 1080-induced bait-shyness. Baits containing brodifacoum can also be used very effectively to "mop up" bait-shy populations, but care must be taken to minimize environmental contamination by this persistent compound.

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Olfactory Discrimination Learning in the Virginia Opossum

Cited by 7 publications

References 1 publication

Context Learning in the Marsupial (<em>Lutreolina Crassicaudata Red Opossum</em>)

Context Learning in the Marsupial (<em>Lutreolina Crassicaudata Red Opossum</em>)

The comparative psychology of marsupials

Learned bait-shyness by possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) towards baits containing cyanide, 1080, cholecalciferol, or brodifacoum

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