Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus)

Alexander M Saliveros; Eleanor C Blyth; Carrie Easter; Georgina Hume; Fraser McAusland; William Hoppitt; Neeltje J Boogert

doi:10.1098/rsos.201215

Back

Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus)

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus)

Alexander M Saliveros, Eleanor C Blyth, Carrie Easter, Georgina Hume, Fraser McAusland, William Hoppitt and Neeltje J Boogert

Royal Society open science, Vol.7(11), pp.1-19

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201215

PMID: 33391803

Files and links (2)

pdf

Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters ( Aonyx cinereus )1.02 MBDownload View

Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access

url

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201215View

Published Version

Abstract

Animal behaviour

learning strategies

social learning

network-based diffusion analysis

otters

long-term memory

Social learning, where information is acquired from others, is taxonomically widespread. There is growing evidence that animals selectively employ ‘social learning strategies', which determine e.g. when to copy others instead of learning asocially and whom to copy. Furthermore, once animals have acquired new information, e.g. regarding profitable resources, it is beneficial for them to commit it to long-term memory (LTM), especially if it allows access to profitable resources in the future. Research into social learning strategies and LTM has covered a wide range of taxa. However, otters (subfamily Lutrinae), popular in zoos due to their social nature and playfulness, remained neglected until a recent study provided evidence of social learning in captive smooth-coated otters ( Lutrogale perspicillata ), but not in Asian short-clawed otters ( Aonyx cinereus ). We investigated Asian short-clawed otters' learning strategies and LTM performance in a foraging context. We presented novel extractive foraging tasks twice to captive family groups and used network-based diffusion analysis to provide evidence of a capacity for social learning and LTM in this species. A major cause of wild Asian short-clawed otter declines is prey scarcity. Furthering our understanding of how they learn about and remember novel food sources could inform key conservation strategies.

Details

Title: Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus)
Authors: Alexander M Saliveros (Author) - University of Exeter
Eleanor C Blyth (Author) - University of Exeter
Carrie Easter (Author) - University of Leeds
Georgina Hume (Author) - University of Exeter
Fraser McAusland (Author) - University of Exeter
William Hoppitt (Author) - Royal Holloway University of London
Neeltje J Boogert (Author) - University of Exeter
Publication details: Royal Society open science, Vol.7(11), pp.1-19
Publisher: The Royal Society Publishing
Date published: 2020
DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201215
ISSN: 2054-5703; 2054-5703
PMID: 33391803
Copyright note: © 2020 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99587708902621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

61 Record Views

5 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Zoology