The hawk/goose story: The classical ethological experiments of Lorenz and Tinbergen, revisited.

Schleidt, Wolfgang M.; Shalter, Michael D.; Moura-Neto, Humberto

doi:10.1037/a0022068

Cited by 39 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…While it is possible that a spider gestalt (a configuration of stimuli present in the spiders) is recognized as a threat to be avoided [39, 41], there may also be discrete stimuli that are additively effecting avoidance. The moving stir bar and the rotating mock spider in particular may have elicited a looming/collision threat [49–52]. The threat of collision combined with the irregular form of the mock spider could act as heterogeneous stimuli that when summed, release a stronger escape response [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drosophila increase exploration after visually detecting predators

et al. 2017

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Novel stimuli elicit behaviors that are collectively known as specific exploration. These behaviors allow the animal to become more familiar with the novel objects within its environment. Specific exploration is frequently suppressed by defensive reactions to predator cues. Herein, we examine if this suppression occurs in Drosophila melanogaster by measuring the response of these flies to wild harvested predators. The flies used in our experiments have been cultured and had not lived under predator threat for multiple decades. In a circular arena with centrally-caged predators, wild type Drosophila actively avoided the pantropical jumping spider, Plexippus paykulli, and the Texas unicorn mantis, Phyllovates chlorophaena, indicating an innate defensive reaction to these predators. Interestingly, wild type Drosophila males also avoided a centrally-caged mock spider, and the avoidance of the mock spider became exaggerated when it was made to move within the cage. Visually impaired Drosophila failed to detect and avoid the Plexippus paykulli and the moving mock spider, while the broadly anosmic orco2 mutants were fully capable of detecting and avoiding Plexippus paykulli, indicating that these flies principally relied upon vison to perceive the predator stimuli. During early exploration of the arena, exploratory activity increased in the presence of Plexippus paykulli and the moving mock spider. The elevated activity induced by Plexippus paykulli disappeared after the fly had finished exploring, suggesting the flies were capable of habituating the predator cues. Taken together, these results indicate that despite being isolated from predators for decades Drosophila will visually detect these predators, retain innate defensive behaviors, respond by increasing exploratory activity in the arena rather than suppressing activity, and may habituate to normal predator cues.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drosophila increase exploration after visually detecting predators

et al. 2017

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“…Response of W3-RGCs to a flying bird against a featureless background is shown. The stimulus was a dark silhouette that Tinbergen used to elicit escape behaviors (48). It moved horizontally at five wing spans per second.…”

Section: W3 Cells Are Feature Detectors Suitable For Detecting Aerialmentioning

confidence: 99%

The most numerous ganglion cell type of the mouse retina is a selective feature detector

Zhang

Kim

Sanes

et al. 2012

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

284

324

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The retina reports the visual scene to the brain through many parallel channels, each carried by a distinct population of retinal ganglion cells. Among these, the population with the smallest and densest receptive fields encodes the neural image with highest resolution. In human retina, and those of cat and macaque, these high-resolution ganglion cells act as generic pixel encoders: They serve to represent many different visual inputs and convey a neural image of the scene downstream for further processing. Here we identify and analyze high-resolution ganglion cells in the mouse retina, using a transgenic line in which these cells, called “W3”, are labeled fluorescently. Counter to the expectation, these ganglion cells do not participate in encoding generic visual scenes, but remain silent during most common visual stimuli. A detailed study of their response properties showed that W3 cells pool rectified excitation from both On and Off bipolar cells, which makes them sensitive to local motion. However, they also receive unusually strong lateral inhibition, both pre- and postsynaptically, triggered by distant motion. As a result, the W3 cell can detect small moving objects down to the receptive field size of bipolar cells, but only if the background is featureless or stationary—an unusual condition. A survey of naturalistic stimuli shows that W3 cells may serve as alarm neurons for overhead predators.

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“…Much more commonly (and of much greater danger to small songbirds such as parids), birds detect and must quickly react to an avian predator flying through their environment. A recent study summarizes and extends some of the classic ethological studies of Tinbergen and Lorenz on the responses of birds to flying avian predator and control stimuli, and finds that the specific characteristics of flying predator stimuli can affect the behavioral response produced by birds (Schleidt et al 2011). Here, we sought to test whether the calls of Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) would be affected by flying avian predator and control stimuli (hereafter we refer to model flight, but stress that "flight" here was simulated using models that moved down a zip line).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Whereas such research using perched predatory stimuli has produced important and interesting results, it is noteworthy that such perching behavior near prey is an uncommon behavior for predatory species (Hegner 1985;Ekman 1989;Schleidt et al 2011). Much more commonly (and of much greater danger to small songbirds such as parids), birds detect and must quickly react to an avian predator flying through their environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chick-a-dee call variation in the context of “flying” avian predator stimuli: a field study of Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis)

Zachau

Freeberg

2012

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Chick-a-dee calls function in social organization in Poecile (chickadee) species. Recent field and aviary studies have found that variation in chick-a-dee calls relates to the type or proximity of avian predator, or level of threat. Earlier studies on calls in the context of predator stimuli have typically used stationary and perched predator models. For chickadees and other small songbirds, more frequently detected and more dangerous avian predatory stimuli are flying predators. In the present study, we tested whether simulated flying avian predator and control models influenced chick-a-dee calling behavior of wild Carolina chickadees, Poecile carolinensis. At 20 independent field sites, chickadee subjects were presented with wooden models that were painted to resemble either a predatory sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) or a blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) and that were made to "fly" down a zip line near a feeding station chickadees were using. The note composition of chick-a-dee calls was affected by both the flight of stimuli and type of model. Call variation in this flying predator context suggests interesting similarities and differences with experimental findings with congeners. Finally, increased production of certain notes to the flying of both model types provides support for a "Better Safe than Sorry" strategy. When costs of alarm calling are low but costs of discriminating potentially serious threats may be extremely high, individuals should err on the side of caution, and alarm call to any potentially threatening stimulus.

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The hawk/goose story: The classical ethological experiments of Lorenz and Tinbergen, revisited.

Cited by 39 publications

References 56 publications

Drosophila increase exploration after visually detecting predators

Drosophila increase exploration after visually detecting predators

The most numerous ganglion cell type of the mouse retina is a selective feature detector

Chick-a-dee call variation in the context of “flying” avian predator stimuli: a field study of Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis)

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