scholarly journals Cache protection strategies by western scrub–jays ( Aphelocoma californica ): hiding food in the shade

2004 ◽  
Vol 271 (suppl_6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna M. Dally ◽  
Nathan J. Emery ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Aphelocoma Californica ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Cache Protection

scholarly journals Difficulties when using video playback to investigate social cognition in California scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica)

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina F. Brecht ◽  
Ljerka Ostojić ◽  
Edward W. Legg ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Video Playback ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Aphelocoma Californica ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Cache Protection

Previous research has suggested that videos can be used to experimentally manipulate social stimuli. In the present study, we used the California scrub-jays’ cache protection strategies to assess whether video playback can be used to simulate conspecifics in a social context. In both the lab and the field, scrub-jays are known to exhibit a range of behaviours to protect their caches from potential pilferage by a conspecific, for example by hiding food in locations out of the observer’s view or by re-caching previously made caches once the observer has left. Here, we presented scrub-jays with videos of a conspecific observer as well as two non-social conditions during a caching period and assessed whether they would cache out of the observer’s “view” (Experiment 1) or would re-cache their caches once the observer was no longer present (Experiment 2). In contrast to previous studies using live observers, the scrub-jays’ caching and re-caching behaviour was not influenced by whether the observer was present or absent. These findings suggest that there might be limitations in using video playback of social agents to mimic real-life situations when investigating corvid decision making.

scholarly journals California scrub-jays reduce visual cues available to potential pilferers by matching food colour to caching substrate

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 20170242
Author(s):  
Laura A. Kelley ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Aphelocoma Californica ◽  
Visual Background ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Food Colour ◽  
Protective Strategies ◽  
Cache Protection

Some animals hide food to consume later; however, these caches are susceptible to theft by conspecifics and heterospecifics. Caching animals can use protective strategies to minimize sensory cues available to potential pilferers, such as caching in shaded areas and in quiet substrate. Background matching (where object patterning matches the visual background) is commonly seen in prey animals to reduce conspicuousness, and caching animals may also use this tactic to hide caches, for example, by hiding coloured food in a similar coloured substrate. We tested whether California scrub-jays ( Aphelocoma californica ) camouflage their food in this way by offering them caching substrates that either matched or did not match the colour of food available for caching. We also determined whether this caching behaviour was sensitive to social context by allowing the birds to cache when a conspecific potential pilferer could be both heard and seen (acoustic and visual cues present), or unseen (acoustic cues only). When caching events could be both heard and seen by a potential pilferer, birds cached randomly in matching and non-matching substrates. However, they preferentially hid food in the substrate that matched the food colour when only acoustic cues were present. This is a novel cache protection strategy that also appears to be sensitive to social context. We conclude that studies of cache protection strategies should consider the perceptual capabilities of the cacher and potential pilferers.

scholarly journals Western scrub-jays conceal auditory information when competitors can hear but cannot see

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 583-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Stulp ◽  
Nathan J. Emery ◽  
Simon Verhulst ◽  
Nicola S. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Aphelocoma Californica ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Cache Protection

Western scrub-jays ( Aphelocoma californica ) engage in a variety of cache-protection strategies to reduce the chances of cache theft by conspecifics. Many of these strategies revolve around reducing visual information to potential thieves. This study aimed to determine whether the jays also reduce auditory information during caching. Each jay was given the opportunity to cache food in two trays, one of which was filled with small pebbles that made considerable noise when cached in (‘noisy’ tray), whereas the other one contained soil that made little detectable noise when cached in (‘quiet’ tray). When the jays could be heard, but not seen, by a competitor, they cached proportionally less food items in the ‘noisy’ substrate than when they cached alone in the room, or when they could be seen and heard by competitors. These results suggest that western scrub-jays know when to conceal auditory information, namely when a competitor cannot see but can hear the caching event.

Cache protection strategies of a scatter-hoarding rodent: do tree squirrels engage in behavioural deception?

2008 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 705-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Steele ◽  
Sylvia L. Halkin ◽  
Peter D. Smallwood ◽  
Thomas J. McKenna ◽  
Katerina Mitsopoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scatter Hoarding ◽  
Tree Squirrels ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Cache Protection

scholarly journals Little evidence that Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) protect their caches by responding to cues about a conspecific's desire and visual perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piero Amodio ◽  
Benjamin G Farrar ◽  
Christopher Krupenye ◽  
Ljerka Ostojic ◽  
Nicola S Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Cognition ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Visual Perspective ◽  
Multiple Cues ◽  
Visual Access ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Cache Protection

Corvids appear to be capable of adjusting their behaviour according to another's perspective, knowledge and desire. For example, Eurasian jays have been found to employ a variety of cache protection strategies to minimise cache loss by responding to cues about the visual perspective or current desire of an observing conspecific. However, it is not known whether these jays (or any other corvid) can integrate multiple cues about different mental states and perform the optimal response accordingly. Across five experiments, we found little evidence that our Eurasian jays responded to either the visual perspective or current desire of another agent. In Experiments 1 and 2 we investigated whether Eurasian jays can limit the risk of cache loss by responding simultaneously to cues about the desire and perspective of a potential conspecific pilferer. Building on established paradigms, we used opaque and clear barriers to manipulate the observer's visual access to cache locations, and specific satiety to manipulate the observer's desire towards different types of food. Across both experiments the jays' caching pattern provided no evidence that they could integrate information about the observer's desire and perspective. Moreover, the results were also inconsistent with the previously reported effects that jays protect their caches by responding to either the visual access or specific satiety of the observer independently. To gain further insight into these unexpected results, we conducted three more experiments. In Experiments 3 and 4, we attempted to replicate the previous finding that Eurasian jays prefer to cache behind an opaque barrier over a clear barrier when observed by a conspecific than when caching in private. In Experiment 5, we further investigated the previous finding that jays preferentially cache a type of food that had been eaten to satiety by a conspecific over a food that had not been eaten by the conspecific. Experiments 3, 4 and 5 found no significant effects in the direction of the previously reported effects, questioning their robustness. We conclude by discussing the implications of our study for the field of corvid cognition and highlight several key issues that affect the reliability of comparative cognition research.

scholarly journals Current desires of conspecific observers affect cache-protection strategies in California scrub-jays and Eurasian jays

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. R51-R53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ljerka Ostojić ◽  
Edward W. Legg ◽  
Katharina F. Brecht ◽  
Florian Lange ◽  
Chantal Deininger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Cache Protection
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