Reznikova Zhanna, Panteleeva Sofia, Novikovskaya Anna, Levenets Jan, Lopatina Natalya, Litvinov Yuri
Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch RAS, Frunze 11, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russia.
Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 2, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
Anim Cogn. 2022 Aug;25(4):731-743. doi: 10.1007/s10071-021-01588-z. Epub 2022 Jan 7.
Predatory hunting is a complex species-typical behaviour involving different skills, some of which may include learning. This research aims to distinguish between rigid and flexible parts in live-insect hunting behaviour in nine herbivorous and granivorous rodent species, and to find out whether there is room for cognition in this activity. In laboratory experiments, all species studied manifest skilful attacks towards insects in a manner that is typical for specialised predators chasing a fleeing prey. Voles demonstrate a "core" and somewhat primitive scheme of a hunting pattern: approaching a potential victim, biting it, and then seizing and handling. Hamsters display the tendency to start their attacks by actions with paws, but they can achieve success only using teeth as well. Gerbils can successfully use both paws and teeth to start the attack, which brings their hunting behaviour closer to that of specialised rodent predators. We revealed variability in the display of hunting in different species, methods of seizing the prey, and the number of attempts to attack an insect before catching it. We found specific flexible fragments within the "bite-grasp-handle" bouts that can be precursors for adaptive phenotypic variations and include some cognitive attributes. We hypothesise that the divergence and specialisation of predatory behaviour in rodents can be based on the natural fragmentation of the original hunting patterns, that is, on the loss or recombination of particular behavioural elements. We consider a possible link between the fragmentation of hunting behaviour and social learning in different classes of animals and conjecture an intriguing correlation between predatory activity, cognitive skills and personal traits in rodents.
掠食性捕猎是一种复杂的物种典型行为，涉及不同技能，其中一些技能可能包括学习。本研究旨在区分9种食草和食谷啮齿动物在捕食活昆虫行为中的固定部分和灵活部分，并探究这种活动中是否存在认知空间。在实验室实验中，所有研究的物种都以典型的专门捕食者追逐逃跑猎物的方式，对昆虫表现出熟练的攻击。田鼠展示了一种“核心”且有点原始的捕猎模式：接近潜在猎物，咬它，然后抓住并处理。仓鼠表现出先用爪子行动开始攻击的倾向，但它们也只有使用牙齿才能成功。沙鼠可以成功地用爪子和牙齿开始攻击，这使它们的捕猎行为更接近专门的啮齿动物捕食者。我们揭示了不同物种在捕猎展示、抓住猎物的方法以及在抓住昆虫之前攻击昆虫的尝试次数方面的变异性。我们在“咬-抓-处理”环节中发现了特定的灵活片段，这些片段可能是适应性表型变异的前兆，并且包括一些认知属性。我们假设啮齿动物捕食行为的分化和专业化可能基于原始捕猎模式的自然碎片化，即基于特定行为元素的丧失或重组。我们考虑了不同类动物中捕猎行为碎片化与社会学习之间的可能联系，并推测了啮齿动物捕食活动、认知技能和个性特征之间的有趣关联。
