Meeting Abstract
Foraging success can limit fitness if resources are unpredictable and strongly favor those individuals that learn socially. Red crossbills specialize on temporally and spatially unpredictable conifer seeds and use public information to cope with the unpredictability. When crossbills fail to locate sufficient seed, they make irruptive migrations and must survive on novel food sources. In addition to adopting new foraging techniques, crossbills also respond to food reduction with physiological adaptations. For example, they respond to food reduction by elevating stress hormones and increasing activity in laboratory settings. Corticosterone (CORT) is a stress hormone that alters behavior and increases in response to metabolic demand and physical or psychological stressors, including food shortages and unpredictable environments. We explore the relationships between CORT and social learning in red crossbills using a two action model to tease apart learning through imitation. Imitative learning in red crossbills will be discussed along with how corticosterone mediates behavior (i.e., activity and ability to learn) during challenging conditions.
