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Levey DJ, Poulsen JR, Schaeffer AP, Deochand ME, Oswald JA, Robinson SK, Londoño GA. Wild mockingbirds distinguish among familiar humans. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10259. [PMID: 37355713 PMCID: PMC10290633 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36225-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Although individuals of some species appear able to distinguish among individuals of a second species, an alternative explanation is that individuals of the first species may simply be distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar individuals of the second species. In that case, they would not be learning unique characteristics of any given heterospecific, as commonly assumed. Here we show that female Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) can quickly learn to distinguish among different familiar humans, flushing sooner from their nest when approached by people who pose increasingly greater threats. These results demonstrate that a common small songbird has surprising cognitive abilities, which likely facilitated its widespread success in human-dominated habitats. More generally, urban wildlife may be more perceptive of differences among humans than previously imagined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas J Levey
- Division of Environmental Biology, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA, 22314, USA.
| | - John R Poulsen
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Andrew P Schaeffer
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Michelle E Deochand
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Jessica A Oswald
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - Scott K Robinson
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Gustavo A Londoño
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Icesi, Cali, Colombia.
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Garris SS, Pierson LM, Ferkin MH. Meadow voles differentiate between scents of different sources. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Scent marks are an important means of transmitting information between rodents, and they can be produced from several body sources. Previous studies have shown that scents from multiple sources can convey the same information; female meadow voles, for example, have three scent sources that communicate sex. However, possessing three separate sources that convey the same information is likely costly due to the metabolic energy required to produce these signals and the increased chance that eavesdropping individuals may intercept information present in these signals. In this study, we investigated if these scent sources could communicate other information, in addition to scent donor sex, by determining if male meadow voles could distinguish scent marks taken from different sources of a single female scent donor. This was accomplished with a habituation-test method, that allowed us to compare how male meadow voles differently investigate scent from a familiar and novel source of a female scent donor. Male meadow voles could distinguish between faeces and urine scent marks of a female, but could only distinguish mouth from urine and faeces scent marks when first familiarized with mouth scent marks. Our findings suggest that mouth, urine, and faeces scent marks of female meadow voles produce both redundant and distinct information. The overlap in information between scent marks produced from separate sources may be needed to provide social context, which allows receiving individuals to accurately weigh the tradeoffs associated with responding to an olfactory cue. While this overlap in information remains costly, this cost may be minimized by the different fade-out times of scent marks from distinct body sources, which may limit the amount of time information in a scent mark is available to a time period where this information is socially relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah S. Garris
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
| | - Lyndsey M. Pierson
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
- Department of Biology, Christian Brothers University, Cooper-Wilson Center, Memphis, TN 38104, USA
| | - Michael H. Ferkin
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
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