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Preferential learning from non-affiliated individuals in jackdaws (Corvus monedula).

Christine Schwab1, Thomas Bugnyar, Kurt Kotrschal

  • 1Konrad-Lorenz-Research Station for Ethology, Gruenau, Austria; Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Austria. christine.schwab@klf.ac.at

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Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) do not learn from affiliated individuals like siblings or mates. Instead, they selectively learn from less familiar, non-affiliated conspecifics, suggesting social learning is context-dependent.

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Area of Science:

  • Animal Behavior
  • Cognitive Ecology
  • Social Learning

Background:

  • Affiliated social relations are hypothesized to enhance information transfer.
  • Social learning mechanisms in corvids, particularly jackdaws (Corvus monedula), remain under-examined.
  • Understanding social dynamics is crucial for comprehending information flow in animal populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether affiliated social relations influence social learning in jackdaws.
  • To test the hypothesis that information transfer is facilitated by social bonds.
  • To examine social learning in both food and non-food contexts across different age groups.

Main Methods:

  • Tested juvenile and adult jackdaws in sibling/non-sibling and pair/non-pair dyads.
  • Employed three stimulus enhancement tasks in non-food and food contexts.
  • Quantified social learning from affiliated versus non-affiliated conspecifics.

Main Results:

  • Jackdaws demonstrated stronger social bonds with siblings and pair partners.
  • Individuals did not learn from affiliated conspecifics in a non-food context.
  • Jackdaws learned from non-affiliated individuals in food-related contexts.
  • Affiliates may rely on each other for food or share environmental experiences, reducing the need for social learning.

Conclusions:

  • Jackdaws exhibit selective social learning, favoring information from non-affiliated individuals.
  • Learned information from non-affiliates may be more relevant due to differing environmental experiences.
  • Close proximity and food sharing among affiliates might inhibit social learning from them.