The poisoned partner effect in rats: Some parametric considerations

Abstract

Five experiments are reported establishing the poisoned partner effect (PPE) in rats as a robust phenomenon and indicating some of the factors that control its occurrence. Experiment 1 was a replication of Lavin, Freise, and Coombes (1980) and demonstrated that the PPE could be obtained under the conditions they described. Experiment 2 established that the PPE was not due to sensitization. Experiment 3 indicated that the nonpoisoned partner (NPP) had to be familiar with its poisoned partner in order for the PPE to be observed. Experiment 4 established that, under the conditions employed here, the NPP and its sick partner had to be paired together for at least 30 min following poisoning of the latter for the PPE to occur. Finally, Experiment 5 demonstrated that the NPP and its poisoned partner had to be paired together immediately following the poisoning episode. If 40 min or more was allowed to elapse following poisoning before the two were placed together, the PPE was attenuated. Taken together, these results indicate that the time course of the PPE is similar to that of the effects of the poisoning agent and suggest that some stimulus secreted by the poisoned rat and associated with the administration of the poison is the causative factor in the PPE.

Un análisis del proceso de aprendizaje social en animales no humanos: situaciones apetitivas versus aversivas

“…Lo mismo ocurre en experimentos de aversión a olores transmitida socialmente (Bond, 1984;Coombs, Revusky & Lett, 1980;Lavin, . En estos, un sujeto es retirado de un grupo y se le permite comer algo que exhale un olor característico (e.g., menta).…”

Neophobia and its effect on the macro‐structure and micro‐structure of feeding in wild brown rats (Rattus norvegicus)

“…Again, a rat which did not sample would be at an advantage, if it could assess the harmful effects of the poison through observing conspecifics (e.g. poisoned-partner effect: Strupp & Levitsky, 1984; Bond, 1984; but cf. Galef, McQuoid & Whiskin, 1990) and hence avoid eating it.…”

Arms race and rat race : adaptations against poisoning in the Brown Rat

“…Another socially-mediated behavioural response potentially relevant to rodenticide poisoning is that of the « poisoned partner effect » : an animal will learn to avoid a food if it is exposed to a sick rat immediately after having consumed a novel flavour (Berger et al, 1979 ;Bond, 1984). Gemberling (1984) also reported that a female will become fo od averse to a novel substance if it has adverse consequences of the health of her pups.…”