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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Apostatic Selection By Blue Jays Produces Balanced Polymorphism In Virtual Prey, Alan B. Bond, Alan Kamil
Apostatic Selection By Blue Jays Produces Balanced Polymorphism In Virtual Prey, Alan B. Bond, Alan Kamil
Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences
Apostatic selection, in which predators overlook rare prey types while consuming an excess of abundant ones, has been assumed to contribute to the maintenance of prey polymorphisms. Such an effect requires predators to respond to changes in the relative abundance of prey, switching to alternatives when a focal prey type becomes less common. Apostatic selection has often been investigated using fixed relative proportions of prey, but its effects on predator–prey dynamics have been difficult to demonstrate. Here we report results from a new technique that incorporates computer-generated displays into an established experimental system, that of blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata …
The Ecology And Evolution Of Spatial Memory In Corvids Of The Southwestern Usa: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay, Russell P. Balda, Alan Kamil
The Ecology And Evolution Of Spatial Memory In Corvids Of The Southwestern Usa: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay, Russell P. Balda, Alan Kamil
Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences
The corvids of the southwest possess many adaptations for the harvest, transport, caching and recovery of pine seeds. However, there is a large degree of between-species variation in the distribution of these traits. These corvids have a well-accepted phylogeny (Hope, 1989), live within close proximity to one another and have relatively well-known natural histories. They therefore present an excellent opportunity to apply the comparative method (Kamil, 1988) to the study of these species differences (Balda et al., 1997). The comparative method for the study of adaptation and evolution of behavioral traits begins with a careful study of the natural histories …
On The Proper Definition Of Cognitive Ethology, Alan Kamil
On The Proper Definition Of Cognitive Ethology, Alan Kamil
Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences
The last 20-30 years have seen two “scientific revolutions” in the study of animal behavior: the cognitive revolution that originated in psychology, and the Darwinian, behavioral ecology revolution that originated in biology. Among psychologists, the cognitive revolution has had enormous impact. Similarly, among biologists, the Darwinian revolution has had enormous impact. The major theme of this chapter is that these two scientific research programs need to be combined into a single approach, simultaneously cognitive and Darwinian, and that this single approach is most appropriately called cognitive ethology.
Preface: Animal Cognition In Nature, Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, Alan Kamil
Preface: Animal Cognition In Nature, Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, Alan Kamil
Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences
This volume, Animal Cognition in Nature, is the result of an ongoing synthesis of several ideas that were considered revolutionary, if not heretical, in the 1960s. At that time, animal behavior, whether studied in field or laboratory, by ethologists or psychologists, was generally interpreted as the result of simple processes relating specific stimuli to specific behaviors. Examples from that time include S–R models, sign stimuli, IRMs, etc. Theoretical constructs such as mental representations, memory or attention were avoided. Today, students of animal behavior work in an entirely different atmosphere. This is the result of several developments.
One of these developments …
The Effect Of Background Cuing On Prey Detection, Henry Kono, Pamela J. Reid, Alan Kamil
The Effect Of Background Cuing On Prey Detection, Henry Kono, Pamela J. Reid, Alan Kamil
Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences
Studies of prey detection have typically focused on how search image affects the capture of cryptic items. This study also considers how background vegetation influences cryptic prey detection. Blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata, searched digitized images for two Catocala moths: C. ilia, which is cryptic on oak, and C. relicta, which is cryptic on birch. Some images contained moths while others did not. The ability of blue jays to detect prey during repeated presentations of one prey type within a session was compared with their performance during randomly alternating presentations of both prey types within a session to …
Exercise Capacity Of House Wren Nestlings: Chicks Are Not Working As Hard As They Can, Mark A. Chappell, Gwendolyn C. Bachman
Exercise Capacity Of House Wren Nestlings: Chicks Are Not Working As Hard As They Can, Mark A. Chappell, Gwendolyn C. Bachman
Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences
We measured the aerobic capacity for exercise in house wren (Troglodytes aedon) nestlings from 3 to 10 days of age. Exercise data were compared with previous measurements of the energy cost of begging (Ebeg) to determine if begging chicks are working at maximal exercise capacity. We also compared exercise with the peak metabolic rate during digestion and, in older chicks, with thermogenic heat production. Rates of oxygen consumption (VO2) during exercise increased rapidly with age, but the factorial aerobic scope for exercise (exercise VO2/resting VO2) averaged only 1.4 (at three …