Gottlieb G
Psychology Department, University of North Carolina, Greensboro 27412.
Dev Psychobiol. 1988 Sep;21(6):509-22. doi: 10.1002/dev.420210602.
The present experiments examined the ability of domestic mallard ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos) to learn individual mallard maternal calls by either repetition-rate differences or spectral (Hz) differences, both of which are present in such calls recorded in nature. The ducklings could learn both kinds of differences within the first 24 hr after hatching, corresponding to the period prior to the exodus from the nest in nature. The hatchlings were able to learn these differences based upon only 12 min of exposure to the maternal calls during the first day after hatching. They were also able to retain (remember) the familiar call for an additional day after exposure. Embryos, on the other hand, could learn the spectral differences after either 12 or 24 min of exposure but could not retain the information under either exposure condition. An additional difference between the auditory learning competence of hatchlings and embryos was that the hatchlings were capable of learning the spectral features of a maternal call even if it was pulsed at different repetition rates during exposure (familiarization) and the subsequent test for recognition. The evolutionary significance of the results was discussed in terms of the general importance of familiarization as a basic behavioral mechanism underlying not only parental attachment but dietary and habitat preferences and the like.
本实验研究了家鸭雏鸭（绿头鸭）通过重复率差异或频谱（赫兹）差异来学习个体母鸭叫声的能力，这两种差异在自然环境中记录的此类叫声中均存在。雏鸭在孵化后的头24小时内能够学习这两种差异，这与自然环境中雏鸭离巢前的时期相对应。幼雏仅在孵化后第一天接触母鸭叫声12分钟，就能学会这些差异。它们在接触后还能够再记住熟悉的叫声一天。另一方面，胚胎在接触12分钟或24分钟后能够学习频谱差异，但在任何一种接触条件下都无法保留这些信息。幼雏和胚胎听觉学习能力的另一个差异是，即使母鸭叫声在接触（熟悉）和随后的识别测试期间以不同的重复率脉冲发出，幼雏也能够学习其频谱特征。研究结果的进化意义从熟悉化作为一种基本行为机制的普遍重要性方面进行了讨论，这种机制不仅是亲子依恋的基础，也是饮食和栖息地偏好等的基础。
