Biology of Invertebrate Learning

Menzel, Randolf; Bicker, Gerd; Carew, Thomas; Fischbach, KF; Gould, JL; Heinrich, B; Heisenberg, MA; Lindauer, Martin S.; Markl, H; Quinn, W L; Sahley, Christie L.; Wagner, AR

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-70094-1_11

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(17 reference statements)

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“…The observed behavioural plasticity which enables butterflies to switch flower preference following conditioning is similar to that described in bees (Menzel, 1967;Wells & Wells, 1986;Wells et ul., 1992;Giurfa & Nuiiez, 1992). This is not surprising, since both are utilizing the same resource, but refutes the suggestion that the ability t o learn foraging preferences is related to the complex social organization of bees (Menzel, 1984). Flexible foraging preferences are clearly of adaptive value, for an insect which is incapable of learning by experience will spend time and expend energy repeatedly visiting flowers which provide a low reward or which have a structure unsuitable for its mouthparts.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Flower constancy and learning in foraging preferences of the green‐veined white butterfly Pleris napi

Goulson

Cory

1993

Ecological Entomology

120

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Abstract. Evolutionary pressure should select for efficient foraging strategies, within the constraints of other selective forces. We assess the mechanisms underlying flower choice in the butterfly, Pieris napi (L.), which as an adult forages for nectar. Experiments were carried out on a laboratory colony, using artificial flowers of two colours, and replicated on two successive generations. When nectar was freely available from all flowers, equal numbers of butterflies visited each colour, but individual butterflies exhibited flower constancy, showing a strong preference for one colour or the other. Following 3 day conditioning periods in which nectar was available from flowers of one colour only, butterflies responded by developing a preference for this colour, which persisted when both flower colours were refilled. This preference could subsequently be switched to the other flower colour following a further 3 days of conditioning. These are interpreted as adaptive (learned) responses, which would have obvious selective benefits in the field, enabling butterflies to avoid flower species which experience has shown are poor sources of nectar, and to adapt to temporal and spatial changes in nectar availability.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Flower constancy and learning in foraging preferences of the green‐veined white butterfly Pleris napi

Goulson

Cory

1993

Ecological Entomology

120

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“…At roughly the same time in the early 1980s, exciting progress was also being made in identifying mechanisms of learning and memory in a number of other simple invertebrate systems, including the honey bee, Hermissenda, Limax, Pleurobrachia, and Drosophila, to name just a few (for review, see Menzel et al, 1984;Carew et al, 1984). In addition, major strides in exploring neural mechanisms of learning and memory were being achieved in a wide range of vertebrate and mammalian systems, including the pioneering work of Jim McGaugh and his colleagues at the University of California, Irvine and Dick Thompson and his research team at the University of Southern California.…”

Section: Learning and Memory Circa 1981mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Journal of Neuroscience's 40th Anniversary: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Carew

2021

J. Neurosci.

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Some of us fortunate enough to have published a paper in The Journal of Neuroscience in its inaugural year (1981) have been asked to write a Progressions article addressing our views on the significance of the original work and how ideas about the topic of that work have evolved over the last 40 years. These questions cannot be effectively considered without placing them in the context of the incredible growth of the overall field of neuroscience over these last four decades. For openers, in 1981, the Nobel Prize was awarded to three neuroscience superstars: Roger Sperry, David Hubel, and Torsten Wiesel. Not a bad year to launch the Journal. With this as a backdrop, I divide this Progressions article into two parts. First, I discuss our original (1981) paper describing classical conditioning in Aplysia californica, and place our results in the context of the state of the field at the time. Second, I fast forward to the present and consider some of remarkable progress in the broad field of learning and memory that has occurred in the last 40 years. Along the way, I also reflect briefly on some of the amazing advances, both technical and conceptual, that we in neuroscience have witnessed.

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“…Smaller animals tend to have fewer, not smaller, neurons (Alloway 1972;Menzel et al 1984), which means fewer components are available for brains and sense organs, the machinery used for cognitive functions. There is considerable evidence that, even over a small range and among closely related species, brain size influences cognitive ability (Lashley 1949;Jerison 1973Jerison , 1985Eisenberg and Wilson 1978;Clutton-Brock and Harvey 1980;Mace et al 1981;Lefebvre et al 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpopulation variation in the risk-related decisions of Portia labiata, an araneophagic jumping spider (Araneae, Salticidae), during predatory sequences with spitting spiders

Jackson

Pollard

et al. 2002

Anim Cogn

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The extent to which decision-making processes are constrained in animals with small brains is poorly understood. Arthropods have brains much smaller and simpler than those of birds and mammals. This raises questions concerning limitations on how intricate the decision-making processes might be in arthropods. At Los Baños in the Philippines, Scytodes pallidus is a spitting spider that specialises in preying on jumping spiders, and Portia labiata is a jumping spider that preys on S. pallidus. Scytodid spit comes from the mouth, and egg-carrying females are less dangerous than eggless scytodids because the female uses her chelicerae to hold her eggs. Held eggs block her mouth, and she has to release them before she can spit. The Los Baños P. labiata sometimes adjusts its tactics depending on whether the scytodid encountered is carrying eggs or not. When pursuing eggless scytodids, the Los Baños P. labiata usually takes detour routes that enable it to close in from behind (away from the scytodid's line of fire). However, when pursuing egg-carrying scytodids, the Los Baños P. labiata sometimes takes faster direct routes to reach these safer prey. The Los Baños P. labiata apparently makes risk-related adjustments specific to whether scytodids are carrying eggs, but P. labiata from Sagada in the Philippines (allopatric to Scytodes) fails to make comparable risk-related adjustments.

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Biology of Invertebrate Learning

Cited by 12 publications

References 18 publications

Flower constancy and learning in foraging preferences of the green‐veined white butterfly Pleris napi

Flower constancy and learning in foraging preferences of the green‐veined white butterfly Pleris napi

The Journal of Neuroscience's 40th Anniversary: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Interpopulation variation in the risk-related decisions of Portia labiata, an araneophagic jumping spider (Araneae, Salticidae), during predatory sequences with spitting spiders

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