Transcript The terror of Indiana: how the native rusty crayfish

Social Learning in a non-social species: a
test of local enhancement in amphibians
Learning
• Modification in behavior in response to
experience (Hinde 1970)
• Many sub-types of learning
Social Learning
• Learning from others – broad range of factors
• Different cognitive “levels”
• Forms:
– Social facilitation
– Stimulus enhancement
– Local enhancement
Fiorito & Scotto 1992. Science.
Methods
• Chose amphibians
• Wood frogs &
spotted salamanders
• General methods
• Recorded:
−
initial side choice
−
latency to choose
−
time spent on each side
Results
P = 0.013
P = 0.885
Latency
P < 0.001
P = 0.664
Why the differences in behavior
• Similar habitats and life-history
• Ecology is different
• Differential costs/benefits
Social Learning in a
Non-social Species
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Challenging notions of social learning
Life-history variation in sociality
Capacity for social learning?
Other studies on amphibians
Acknowledgements