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Exploring Differences in Dogs' and Wolves' Preference for Risk in a Foraging Task.

Sarah Marshall-Pescini1, Ingo Besserdich2, Corinna Kratz2

  • 1Comparative Cognition Unit, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Medical University of Vienna-University of ViennaVienna, Austria; Wolf Science CentreDorfles, Austria.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Wolves exhibit higher risk-taking behavior than dogs, reflecting their hunting-dependent feeding ecology compared to dogs' scavenging habits. This study highlights species-specific differences in risk preference.

Keywords:
dogsfeeding ecologyrisk-takingwolves

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Area of Science:

  • Comparative psychology
  • Animal behavior
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Risk-taking is a common behavior in both humans and non-human species.
  • Individual risk propensity correlates with explorative tendencies.
  • Species-level feeding ecology variability influences risk preference.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare risk-taking behavior between wolves and dogs, two closely related species with distinct feeding ecologies.
  • To investigate the relationship between feeding strategies, explorative tendencies, and risk preference in canids.

Main Methods:

  • A foraging paradigm was employed, presenting choices between guaranteed, less preferred food and a preferred food with a 50% delivery rate.
  • Identically raised adult wolves and dogs were compared.
  • Risk-taking propensity was assessed based on choices made in the foraging task.

Main Results:

  • Wolves demonstrated a significantly higher propensity for risk-taking compared to dogs.
  • This difference aligns with the wolves' hunting-dependent, less stable feeding ecology versus the dogs' scavenging, more stable resource acquisition.
  • Explorative tendencies also differed between the species, correlating with risk preference.

Conclusions:

  • Species-specific feeding ecology and associated explorative tendencies shape risk-taking behavior.
  • Wolves are more risk-prone than dogs, reflecting adaptive strategies for their respective ecological niches.
  • The findings contribute to understanding the evolutionary basis of decision-making under uncertainty.