Not too different: Wild Lymnaea learning at the pondside and in the lab

In 1973, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz, and Nikolaas Tinbergen for their pioneering work in the development of Ethology. This branch of science, which involves the study of animal behaviour, differs from others due to its emphasis on the behaviour of animals in their natural environment. We hypothesized that freshly collected wild Lymnaea stagnalis would be capable of demonstrating a form of conditioned taste aversion and memory in natural pond water, both at the pondside and in the lab. We further hypothesized that the snails would demonstrate similar learning and memory formation in laboratory-made pond water, both at the pondside and in the lab. The associative learning shown occurs between two stimuli, a stressor and a food substance, when they are experienced together over a 45-min period. Here, we demonstrate the similar learning and memory-forming capabilities of wild L. stagnalis, whether trained at the pondside or in the lab.