Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones)
Abstract Several studies have investigated habituation in a defensive context, but few have addressed responses to dangerous stimuli. In such cases, animals should not habituate since this could cost their lives. Here we have stimulated individuals of the harvester Mischonyx squalidus with a predato...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Animal Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01857-7 |
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| author | Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti Jerry A. Hogan Rodrigo Hirata Willemart |
| author_facet | Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti Jerry A. Hogan Rodrigo Hirata Willemart |
| author_sort | Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Several studies have investigated habituation in a defensive context, but few have addressed responses to dangerous stimuli. In such cases, animals should not habituate since this could cost their lives. Here we have stimulated individuals of the harvester Mischonyx squalidus with a predatory stimulus (squeezing with tweezers) in repeated trials within and between days, and measured the occurrence and magnitude of nipping, a defensive behavior. Contrary to our expectations, they did habituate to this stimulus. The probability and magnitude of response declined over trials during each of three days of testing in a typical habituation pattern. During the trials we also observed other defensive behaviors. We discuss our results mainly considering alternative defensive responses. Our data show that we lack information on (1) the role played by the ambiguity of stimuli, (2) the role played by subsequent stimuli and (3) the importance of the array of defensive behaviors of a species in understanding habituation. Although ubiquitous across animals and therefore expected, habituation is described for the first time in the order Opiliones. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f5983aa54c274e69a7b38a70773b958c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-f5983aa54c274e69a7b38a70773b958c2025-01-26T12:44:08ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562024-03-012711610.1007/s10071-024-01857-7Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones)Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti0Jerry A. Hogan1Rodrigo Hirata Willemart2Laboratório de Ecologia Sensorial e Comportamento de Artrópodes, Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São PauloDepartment of Psychology, University of TorontoLaboratório de Ecologia Sensorial e Comportamento de Artrópodes, Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São PauloAbstract Several studies have investigated habituation in a defensive context, but few have addressed responses to dangerous stimuli. In such cases, animals should not habituate since this could cost their lives. Here we have stimulated individuals of the harvester Mischonyx squalidus with a predatory stimulus (squeezing with tweezers) in repeated trials within and between days, and measured the occurrence and magnitude of nipping, a defensive behavior. Contrary to our expectations, they did habituate to this stimulus. The probability and magnitude of response declined over trials during each of three days of testing in a typical habituation pattern. During the trials we also observed other defensive behaviors. We discuss our results mainly considering alternative defensive responses. Our data show that we lack information on (1) the role played by the ambiguity of stimuli, (2) the role played by subsequent stimuli and (3) the importance of the array of defensive behaviors of a species in understanding habituation. Although ubiquitous across animals and therefore expected, habituation is described for the first time in the order Opiliones.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01857-7Defensive behaviorExperienceNon-associative learningRetention |
| spellingShingle | Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti Jerry A. Hogan Rodrigo Hirata Willemart Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones) Animal Cognition Defensive behavior Experience Non-associative learning Retention |
| title | Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones) |
| title_full | Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones) |
| title_fullStr | Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones) |
| title_short | Habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester (Arachnida, Opiliones) |
| title_sort | habituation to a predatory stimulus in a harvester arachnida opiliones |
| topic | Defensive behavior Experience Non-associative learning Retention |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01857-7 |
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