For the first time, scientists have experimentally demonstrated social learning in non-human animals induced by environmental change. A recent study by experts from the Max Planck Institute showed that after migration, the great tits learned new behaviors from the local community they had just met.
The first indications that large breasts can learn each other's behavior were already observed in the 1920s. These little birds became famous after opening the foil of milk bottles left outside to drink cream in a small town in England. In a short period of time, similar incidents were registered in many European countries.
The unusual behavior of breasts spread so quickly that scientists took notice. In 2015, a study conducted by Lucy Aplin at the University of Oxford confirmed that large breasts can copy behavior.
– Social learning is a shortcut when we have to face the unknown (…). Dr. Michael Chimento, who was a member of Aplin's team, says that paying attention to what others are doing allows you to see whether a new behavior is beneficial or potentially dangerous.
However, the 2015 experiment did not answer the question of whether there is a factor that causes such changes in behavior. Previously, it was assumed that animals should change their behavior under the influence of a new environment. Aplin and Chimento were the first to test this theory under experimental conditions. The results were presented a few days ago in the journal PLOS Biology.
Puzzle boxes
For the experiment, the researchers designed special automated puzzle boxes that housed giant wild boars. After the animals were divided into groups, each was assigned a previously trained teacher who knew how to solve the puzzle. It involved moving a door to the right or left behind which was a reward in the form of food. In this way, several separate communities were established. Some rooms also had different plants to simulate the changes in the environment.
Later, there was a so-called migration event. Birds trained to push doors to the right were transferred to rooms that housed those that walked in the opposite direction.
– “Immigrants” could change something just by observing the residents using the puzzle or by solving it in the opposite way, – emphasizes Chimento.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
Immediate behavior change
The result of the study was surprising. About 80 percent of the birds imitated the behavior of others the first time they tried to solve a puzzle, abandoning their learned habits in the blink of an eye.
“These behavioral patterns are interesting enough that the birds have been observing the residents closely since they entered their new social group,” adds Chimento.
Scientists have also noticed another very interesting relationship related to the appearance of individual boxes. During the experiment, it was found that in those rooms where the plants were the same, only 25 percent of the big breasts changed their behavior among the new community.
“They didn't necessarily neglect the residents, but it took a long time to get everyone to a more satisfactory solution,” said Dr. Michael Chimento.
According to the authors of the study, their work shows the powerful influence of migration on changing animal behavior.
“In the wild, animals often move from one environment to another, so it's useful to have a strategy that allows them to learn good and bad behaviors that can be used in a new place,” he concludes. Lucy Aplin.
Main image source: Shutterstock
