Configural learning in freshly collected, smart, wild Lymnaea

Area of Science:

• Animal behavior
• Neuroscience
• Ecology

Background:

• Configural learning, a higher-order associative learning, involves integrating multiple stimuli.
• Laboratory strains of Lymnaea stagnalis exhibit configural learning.
• Wild Lymnaea stagnalis regularly encounter predators, such as crayfish.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if wild Lymnaea stagnalis possess configural learning abilities.
• To determine if configural learning is relevant in naturalistic predator-prey interactions.

Main Methods:

• Wild Lymnaea stagnalis were subjected to a configural learning paradigm.
• Snails were trained to associate a food odor (carrot odor, CO) with a predator cue (crayfish effluent, CE).
• Behavioral responses to the food odor post-training were assessed.

Main Results:

• Wild Lymnaea stagnalis successfully acquired configural learning.
• The previously neutral food odor (CO) elicited anti-predator behaviors after training.
• CO became a conditioned risk signal, indicating a learned fear response.

Conclusions:

• Configural learning is present in wild populations of Lymnaea stagnalis.
• This learning mechanism likely plays a crucial role in snail survival within their natural environment.
• Configural learning contributes to adaptive anti-predator strategies in aquatic snails.