Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Wilkinson, A., Mueller, J., Kuenstner, K., & Huber, L. (2010). Social learning in a non-social reptile (geochelone carbonaria). Biology Letters, (epub. ahead of print).
Added by: Admin (09 May 2010 16:31:15 UTC) Last edited by: Beate Pfau (01 Jul 2012 08:14:11 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Wilkinson2010a View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Chelonoidis, Chelonoidis carbonaria, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae, Verhalten = ethology Creators: Huber, Kuenstner, Mueller, Wilkinson Collection: Biology Letters |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae The ability to learn from the actions of another is adaptive, as it is a shortcut for acquiring new information. However, the evolutionary origins of this trait are still unclear. There is evidence that group-living mammals, birds, fishes and insects can learn through observation, but this has never been investigated in reptiles. Here, we show that the non-social red-footed tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria) can learn from the actions of a conspecific in a detour task; non-observer animals (without a conspecific demonstrator) failed. This result provides the first evidence that a non-social species can use social cues to solve a task that it cannot solve through individual learning, challenging the idea that social learning is an adaptation for social living.
Added by: Admin Last edited by: Beate Pfau |