Meeting Abstract
89.4 Monday, Jan. 6 14:15 Learned anti-predator behavior is impaired by exogenous corticosterone in free-living Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens). JONES, BC*; BEBUS, S; SCHOECH, SJ; Univ. of Memphis; Univ. of Memphis; Univ. of Memphis bcjones8@memphis.edu
Appropriate responses to predators are learned for many avian species. However, few studies have explored the underlying mechanisms that mediate the acquisition and retention of anti-predator behaviors. Perception of a known predator is a stressful stimulus that leads to the release of glucocorticoids in a number of different taxa. The avian glucocorticoid, corticosterone (CORT), facilitates physiological and behavioral changes that can enhance survival, but can also affect memory. Given these links, CORT is a likely candidate to mediate the process of learning the dangers of predators, and thus facilitate subsequent anti-predator behaviors. Florida scrub-jays (FSJs; Aphelocoma coerulescens) are an avian species capable of learning anti-predator behavior. We developed a model, using an artificial novel “predator”, to test the link between CORT and the FSJ’s ability to learn and retain information about a novel predator. We exposed subjects to either a threatening novel predator or a non-threatening human. Within each of these exposure groups, half of the individuals were given exogenous CORT prior to the exposure, while the other half received a sham dose. Two days after being exposed to either the threatening or non-threatening stimulus, flight initiation distances (FID) in response to the novel predator were measured. Individuals that received a sham dose and were previously threatened by the novel predator displayed greater FID than control birds. Birds that received exogenous CORT and had been previously threatened by the novel predator, exhibited FID similar to controls. These data indicate that FSJs can learn to identify a novel predator as a threat with a single exposure, and that CORT can significantly affect this cognitive process.
