Visually imprinted maternal preference in ducklings is redirected by social interaction with siblings

Lickliter, Robert; Gottlieb, Gilbert

doi:10.1002/dev.420190312

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…The presence of a sibling from birth could delay or weaken the process of attachment to the mother. It has been shown in ducklings that social interaction with siblings can redirect preference for the mother (Lickliter & Gottlieb, 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of mother discrimination by single and multiple newborn lambs

Nowak

Poindron

Putu

1989

Developmental Psychobiology

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Most research on recognition of the ewe by her lamb has focused on lambs several days or even several weeks old, whereas newly born lambs have received little attention. The aim of this work was therefore to study the attraction of Merino lambs to postparturient ewes and their ability to discriminate between their own and alien mothers in a two-choice situation 12, 18, 24, 48, and 72 hr after birth. A comparison between singles and multiples was also made in 18 and 24-hr-old lambs. When released in the testing pen, approximately 90% of the lambs in each group (older than 12 hr) spent more than 3 min with the two ewes during the 5-min test. It was only from 24 hr old, however, that a high proportion of lambs spent at least two-thirds of this time close to their own mothers (correct choice). The proportion of singles spending more than 3 min with the ewes or making a correct choice was higher than that of multiples. This effect was related to litter size but not to birth weight. It is concluded that a majority of Merino lambs are clearly attracted to ewes by the time they are 18 hr old and can discriminate their own dams from alien mothers at about 24 hr of age. At this stage singles perform better than multiples.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of mother discrimination by single and multiple newborn lambs

Nowak

Poindron

Putu

1989

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…Nevertheless, the social effect was not clear because the imprinting response probability in group P was not particularly different from that of group I. Previous investigators (Johnston & Gottlieb, 1985;Lickliter & Gottlieb, 1985, 1986) have reported that although social interaction with age mates up to 48 h after hatching did not interfere with the original maternal preference, the same experience between 38 h and 72 h actively interfered with preference for the mallard model. Thus, we can conclude that up to 48 h after hatching, with the original stimulus being either a natural or an artificial object, social interaction after the primary imprinting does not interfere with the maintenance of primary imprinting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Reconsideration on primacy effect of imprinting in ducklings

Moriyama

1991

Jpn. Psychol. Res

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Three experiments were carried out to determine whether initial imprinting to an artificial object wears off when a Peking duckling (Anas platyrkynchos) is later exposed to a conspecific. Two groups of ducklings (groups I and P) were studied. The ducklings in group I had no social contact except during experimental sessions, whereas those of group P did. Experiment 1 showed that the effect of social contact on the ducklings' subsequent responses to the original object was not significant. Experiment 2 showed that the shaped and maintained operant response rate to the imprinting object decreased sharply in ducklings from both groups when the conspecific was used as a contingent event. Experiment 3 showed that ducklings from both groups preferred the imprinting object over the conspecific in a simultaneous choice situation. Furthermore, when the imprinting object was not presented, the ducklings from group I avoided the conspecific, while those from group P approached it. These results indicated that the initial imprinting to an artificial object does not wear off even if ducklings are later exposed to the natural conspecific and establish some preference for it, supporting the primacy effect in imprinting.

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“…Thus, each brood included an 'experimental' male reared with heterospecific females and a 'control' male reared with females of his own species. It was not possible to form larger broods or rear ducklings with adult females owing to logistical constraints, but previous work has demonstrated that interaction with siblings contributes to both filial (Lickliter & Gottlieb 1986) and sexual (Schuetz 1965;Cheng et al 1978) imprinting in Anas ducklings. Broods were reared in visual isolation in outdoor enclosures with ad libitum access to food, water and shelter.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual imprinting misguides species recognition in a facultative interspecific brood parasite

2010

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Sexual reproduction relies on the recognition of conspecifics for breeding. Most experiments in birds have implicated a critical role for early social learning in directing subsequent courtship behaviours and mating decisions. This classical view of avian sexual imprinting is challenged, however, by studies of megapodes and obligate brood parasites, species in which reliable recognition is achieved despite the lack of early experience with conspecifics. By rearing males with either conspecific or heterospecific brood mates, we experimentally tested the effect of early social experience on the association preferences and courtship behaviours of two sympatrically breeding ducks. We predicted that redheads (Aythya americana), which are facultative interspecific brood parasites, would show a diminished effect of early social environment on subsequent courtship preferences when compared with their host and congener, the canvasback (Aythya valisineria). Contrary to expectations, cross-fostered males of both species courted heterospecific females and preferred them in spatial association tests, whereas control males courted and associated with conspecific females. These results imply that ontogenetic constraints on species recognition may be a general impediment to the initial evolution of interspecific brood parasitism in birds. Under more natural conditions, a variety of mechanisms may mitigate or counteract the effects of early imprinting for redheads reared in canvasback broods.

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Visually imprinted maternal preference in ducklings is redirected by social interaction with siblings

Cited by 29 publications

References 20 publications

Development of mother discrimination by single and multiple newborn lambs

Development of mother discrimination by single and multiple newborn lambs

Reconsideration on primacy effect of imprinting in ducklings

Sexual imprinting misguides species recognition in a facultative interspecific brood parasite

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