Who’s watching influences caching effort in wild Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Kalinowski, Ryan S.; Gabriel, Pia O.; Black, Jeffrey M.

doi:10.1007/s10071-014-0780-x

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Thus, Eurasian jays seem to engage in a variety of different behaviour that might function to minimise cache loss. The results also suggest that caching at a distance to a conspecific is present in a range of caching corvid species (Bugnyar and Kotrschal 2002 ; Dally et al 2005 ; Kalinowski et al 2015 ). A potential exception to this finding is the Clark’s nutcracker.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Ravens ( Corvus corax ), Western scrub-jays and Steller’s jays ( Cyanocitta stelleri ) also preferentially cache at distant locations when conspecifics are present (Dally et al 2005 ; Kalinowski et al 2015 ). This behaviour has been interpreted as an attempt to limit the observer’s visual access to the caching event.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies investigating whether caching at a distance might be a specific cache protection strategy have considered only one of the two alternative ways in which caching at the distance could be a by-product of another behaviour. The first account—that caching in distant locations might be the result of a general preference for a particular cache location—has been controlled for in experiments with Western scrub-jays (Dally et al 2005 ) and Steller’s jays (Kalinowski et al 2015 ). For both of these species, individuals cached at more distant locations when a conspecific was present than when they cached in private.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Caching at a distance: a cache protection strategy in Eurasian jays

2016

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A fundamental question about the complexity of corvid social cognition is whether behaviours exhibited when caching in front of potential pilferers represent specific attempts to prevent cache loss (cache protection hypothesis) or whether they are by-products of other behaviours (by-product hypothesis). Here, we demonstrate that Eurasian jays preferentially cache at a distance when observed by conspecifics. This preference for a ‘far’ location could be either a by-product of a general preference for caching at that specific location regardless of the risk of cache loss or a by-product of a general preference to be far away from conspecifics due to low intra-species tolerance. Critically, we found that neither by-product account explains the jays’ behaviour: the preference for the ‘far’ location was not shown when caching in private or when eating in front of a conspecific. In line with the cache protection hypothesis we found that jays preferred the distant location only when caching in front of a conspecific. Thus, it seems likely that for Eurasian jays, caching at a distance from an observer is a specific cache protection strategy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10071-016-0972-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Caching at a distance: a cache protection strategy in Eurasian jays

2016

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“…Many species have strategies to reduce pilferage by conspecifics (Bugnyar and Kotrschal 2002, Dally et al 2006a, Clayton et al 2007), but behavioral responses may vary with the social context of observers at the time of caching (Pravosudov and Lucas 2000). Some species modify their caching behavior depending on the social or dominance status of nearby observers (Lahti et al 1998, Dally et al 2006b, Kalinowski et al 2015). When observed during caching, some may prefer to cache in private by flying farther (Dally et al 2005), caching behind screening vegetation (Legg and Clayton 2014), or re‐caching an item when no longer being observed (van der Vaart et al 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogeny of food‐caching site preferences in young Florida Scrub‐Jays: evidence of learning or changing social status?

2020

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Florida Scrub‐Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) are cooperative breeders endemic to Florida’s oak scrub. In autumn, Florida Scrub‐Jays cache thousands of acorns and exhibit behaviors that appear to balance cache site selection against food degradation or cache robbery. However, both experience and position within a social dominance hierarchy could affect individual cache preferences. We examined the cache site preferences of birds with differing levels of caching experience and at different strata within a complex social dominance hierarchy. Our objective was to determine how experience, social position, and social context when caching influenced microhabitat preferences, and if these change as jays age, gain experience, and their social position changes. Naïve first‐year birds preferred to cache in well‐hidden, densely vegetated sites with relatively high soil moisture content. Naïve birds also cached farther from provisioning points if observed by a socially dominant bird than when they were alone or in the presence of birds of equal social status. Experienced adults preferred to cache in open, dry sandy sites and social context at the time of caching did not influence their preferences. As naïve birds aged, they gained experience and their social position changed. Experienced second‐year birds shifted their preference to more open, drier sites, and did so more often when they remained subordinate within their group rather than becoming dominant breeders. Second‐year birds that remained subordinate did not alter their caching behavior if observed by dominant birds. These patterns suggest that after gaining experience, jays learned which sites were more appropriate for caching and shifted their preference, regardless of their changing social status. We suggest that the risk of cache loss to food degradation might be greater than the risk of pilfering for Florida Scrub‐Jays, especially for birds in any social strata except the most subordinate, but this requires additional study.

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“…Previous caching studies have demonstrated that caching and its related behaviours can vary in different social environments (Alexander et al, 2005;Bugnyar & Heinrich, 2006;Kalinowski, Gabriel, & Black, 2015;Van Horik & Burns, 2007). For instance, adult robins from the same population as this study, have been shown to dramatically decrease their caching rates in the presence of their mate compared to when they are alone (Burns & Steer, 2006).…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Brood Division and the Ontogeny of Caching Behaviour in the North Island robin (Petroica longipes)

Clark¹

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<p>The post-fledging period is an important, but understudied, stage of avian development. This is despite the fact that the parental care and behavioural development of young observed during this period contribute significantly toward offspring survival. A key factor that has contributed to the lack of research in this area has been the difficulty with which parents and offspring can be observed during this period. The North Island robin (Petroica longipes) is a small insectivorous passerine native to New Zealand forests. As a result of the historic absence of mammalian predators, North Island robins lack pronounced anti-predator behaviours and are fearless towards humans. This makes them ideal subjects for behavioural studies in the wild because human presence does not alter their daily activities. Using field observations, the present study examined parental care and the development of caching during the post-fledging period in wild North Island robins. Brood division is a form of preferential post-fledging care that is well documented among avian species in the northern hemisphere. In contrast, little is known about the incidence and function of brood division in avian species outside this region. Across two breeding seasons (2014-2015 and 2015-2016), feeding interactions between parents and offspring were observed during nestling and fledgling development to determine the timing of and factors influencing brood division in robins. Brood division occurred around the time young left the nest and was common amongst broods which fledged two or more young. The male parent typically cared for male and larger fledglings and the female parent for female and smaller fledglings. The results of this study match patterns observed in northern hemisphere species suggesting that brood division provides the same adaptive advantages to species regardless of geographical context. Caching, the handling of food to preserve it for future consumption, is an important strategy which allows numerous avian species to deal with natural fluctuations in food supply. In recent decades, caching has become a widely-used paradigm for examining a range of cognitive processes in birds, such as social cognition and spatial memory. However, much is still unknown about how caching develops in young birds, especially in the wild. Over a 12-week period following fledging, the ontogeny of caching and cache retrieval was observed for 34 juvenile robins. Juveniles began caching shortly after achieving foraging independency (approximately 5 weeks after fledging) and their caching rates increased gradually with age. Retrieval of caches began spontaneously as soon as they had begun to cache and retrieval rates remained constant throughout development. Results suggest that caching behaviour in North Island robins is likely to be innate, but that age and experience have an important role in the development of adult caching behaviours. The two studies described in this dissertation examine behaviours that have either been previously difficult to document in the wild or have not been documented in this species. Overall, the results highlight the behavioural similarities between the North Island robin and other avian species exhibiting brood division and caching. Additionally, they also demonstrate the suitability of the North Island robin for future behavioural research given the ease with which these birds can be observed in the wild.</p>

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Who’s watching influences caching effort in wild Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Cited by 14 publications

References 20 publications

Caching at a distance: a cache protection strategy in Eurasian jays

Caching at a distance: a cache protection strategy in Eurasian jays

Ontogeny of food‐caching site preferences in young Florida Scrub‐Jays: evidence of learning or changing social status?

Brood Division and the Ontogeny of Caching Behaviour in the North Island robin (Petroica longipes)

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