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Selective habituation shapes acoustic predator recognition in harbour seals.
Deecke, Volker B; Slater, Peter J B; Ford, John K B.
Afiliação
  • Deecke VB; School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Scotland, KY16 9TS, UK. vd2@st-andrews.ac.uk
Nature ; 420(6912): 171-3, 2002 Nov 14.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-12432391
Predation is a major force in shaping the behaviour of animals, so that precise identification of predators will confer substantial selective advantages on animals that serve as food to others. Because experience with a predator can be lethal, early researchers studying birds suggested that predator recognition does not require learning. However, a predator image that can be modified by learning and experience will be advantageous in situations where cues associated with the predator are highly variable or change over time. In this study, we investigated the response of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) to the underwater calls of different populations of killer whales (Orcinus orca). We found that the seals responded strongly to the calls of mammal-eating killer whales and unfamiliar fish-eating killer whales but not to the familiar calls of the local fish-eating population. This demonstrates that wild harbour seals are capable of complex acoustic discrimination and that they modify their predator image by selectively habituating to the calls of harmless killer whales. Fear in these animals is therefore focused on local threats by learning and experience.
Assuntos
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Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Baleias / Comunicação Animal / Cadeia Alimentar / Focas Verdadeiras / Aprendizagem por Discriminação / Audição Tipo de estudo: Prognostic_studies Limite: Animals País/Região como assunto: America do norte Idioma: En Revista: Nature Ano de publicação: 2002 Tipo de documento: Article
Buscar no Google
Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Baleias / Comunicação Animal / Cadeia Alimentar / Focas Verdadeiras / Aprendizagem por Discriminação / Audição Tipo de estudo: Prognostic_studies Limite: Animals País/Região como assunto: America do norte Idioma: En Revista: Nature Ano de publicação: 2002 Tipo de documento: Article