An investigation of quantity discrimination in Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana).
نویسندگان
چکیده
We examined quantity discrimination in the Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), a corvid bird with a strong dependence upon caching and recovering nuts. We presented 2 sets of nuts simultaneously, in 21 different conditions, to see if the nutcrackers could choose the larger of the 2 quantities. The nutcrackers displayed a strong ability to discriminate quantities of nuts. Like other animals tested previously, the nutcrackers' performance decreased as the ratio of the 2 quantities approached 1. Interestingly, at constant distances, the nutcrackers did not have more difficulty with contrasts containing larger quantities. Thus, nutcrackers have a fine sensitivity for discriminating between 2 quantities. We review the relevant literature and explore the possibility that nutcrackers, like some other birds, may have developed a keen ability to discriminate quantities. This ability may have developed as an adaptive specialization to cope with their scatter-hoarding ecology, though the evidence for such a conclusion is mixed.
منابع مشابه
The effects of requiring different response strategies following caching in Clark╎s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana)
The effects of requiring different response strategies following caching in Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana)" (1994).
متن کاملChanging room cues reduces the effects of proactive interference in Clark's Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana.
To determine what factors are important for minimizing interference effects in spatial memory, Clark's Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana were tested for their spatial memory for two serial lists of locations per day. In this experiment two unique landmark sets were either different between List 1 and List 2 or the same. We found that Nutcrackers were most susceptible to interference when the la...
متن کاملTests for cognitive mapping in Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana).
In these experiments, the authors examined the nature of the spatial information that Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) use during navigation and whether this information is represented in the form of a cognitive map. In Experiment 1, nutcrackers were able to use distal cues to locate a small hidden goal. In Experiments 2 and 3, nutcrackers were given the opportunity to develop a map o...
متن کاملPopulation-Wide Failure to Breed in the Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)
In highly variable environments, conditions can be so stressful in some years that entire populations forgo reproduction in favor of higher likelihood of surviving to breed in future years. In two out of five years, Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga Columbiana) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem exhibited population-wide failure to breed. Clark's nutcrackers at the study site experienced substan...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of comparative psychology
دوره 129 1 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2015