Comparing black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli): use of geometric and featural information in a spatial orientation task |
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| Authors: | Emily R. Batty Laurie L. Bloomfield Marcia L. Spetch Christopher B. Sturdy |
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| Affiliation: | (1) Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada;(2) Present address: Department of Psychology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada;(3) Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Since Cheng (Cognition 23:149–178, 1986) first proposed the “geometric module” in rats, a great deal of research has focused on how other species use geometric information and how geometric encoding may differ across species. Here, hand-reared and wild-caught black-capped chickadees and wild-caught mountain chickadees searched for food hidden in one corner in a rectangular environment. Previous research has shown that mountain chickadees do not spontaneously encode geometric information when a salient feature is present near the goal location. Using a slightly different training and testing procedure, we found that both hand-reared and wild-caught black-capped chickadees encoded geometric information, even in the presence of a salient landmark. Some, but not all, mountain chickadees also encoded geometric information. Overall, our results suggest that use of geometric information may be a less preferred strategy for mountain chickadees than for either wild-caught or hand-reared black-capped chickadees. To our knowledge, this is the first direct interspecies comparison of use of geometric information in a spatial orientation task. |
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| Keywords: | Mountain chickadees Black-capped chickadees Geometry Spatial learning Rearing environment |
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