Dissertation Research: foraging decisions and social learning in a Neotropical bat

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project focuses on how animals integrate information from many sources to make decisions about what to eat. One source of information about food types comes from observing the behavior of others. Information acquired by observing other individuals (social information) often influences animal foraging decisions. Environmental variation is another type of information that often requires animals to include novel prey in their diets, and social information about the quality of novel prey may be crucial for foraging success and survival. Little is known about the conditions under which animals use social information to access novel prey. This proposal describes two behavioral experiments to determine when frog-eating bats use social observation to learn novel prey cues. The Neotropical fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus, localizes frogs by approaching their calls, and can learn to approach novel cues by observing other individuals foraging. This project will examine how foraging success affects learning about novel food types. The investigators will train undergraduates from diverse backgrounds in methods for conducting behavioral experiments. Preliminary results indicate that bats use social information selectively in combination with information gained from personal experience. Social learning has long fascinated biologists because it is the basis of culture, which is so central to human behavior. To understand the potential for animal culture, it is necessary to know when animals use social observation to learn novel behaviors.