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I remember you! Multicomponent warning signals and predator memory.

Anita Szabó¹, Magdalena Bělová¹, Alice Exnerová¹

¹Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 1594/7, Prague, 12844, Czech Republic.

Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology

|December 12, 2024

Summary

Predators like great tits (Parus major) remember warning signals from unpalatable prey for weeks. Color is key, but both color and pattern together best aid prey recognition.

Keywords:

avian predators color discrimination learning long-term memory multicomponent signals pattern warning coloration

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Animal Behavior
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Predators must distinguish between safe and dangerous prey to survive.
Unpalatable prey often use visual warning signals (aposematism) with multiple components like color and pattern.
While learning to discriminate prey is studied, memory of warning signal components is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate which visual warning signal components (color, pattern) are crucial for predator learning and long-term memory.
Assess the role of individual vs. combined signal components in prey discrimination recall.

Main Methods:

Adult great tits (Parus major) were trained to differentiate palatable from unpalatable artificial prey.
Prey varied in both color and pattern.
After 4 weeks, birds were retested using prey identical to training, prey differing only in color, or prey differing only in pattern.

Main Results:

Great tits demonstrated memory of unpalatable prey experiences after 4 weeks.
Color was a more significant factor than pattern in discrimination.
The combination of color and pattern was more effective for long-term prey recognition than either component alone.

Conclusions:

Great tits exhibit robust long-term memory for aposematic prey signals.
Visual warning signal components, particularly color, play a vital role in predator memory and prey recognition.
Combined signal elements enhance the effectiveness of aposematic signals for predator memory over time.