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Retention of acquired predator recognition among shy versus bold juvenile rainbow trout

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Abstract

The ability to acquire information about predators allows prey to better balance threat-sensitive tradeoffs by responding only to ecologically relevant predation threats. However, predation risk is highly variable through time and responding to predators that no longer represent a threat would likely prove costly to prey. While a wealth of studies have examined the way in which prey learn, little attention has been paid to retention of acquired information. Recent studies suggest that retention is indeed plastic and shaped by a suite of intrinsic factors such as strength of initial conditioning and individual growth rate. Here, we investigated if the duration of retention of acquired information is influenced by individual behavioral tactics (i.e., ‘personality’). We recorded latency to escape an opaque acclimation chamber of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as a measure of behavioral tactic. We then immediately conditioned individual trout to recognize pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) and tested for recognition 24 h or 8 days postconditioning. Our results demonstrate that while shy versus bold trout exhibited no difference in the strength of conditioned response to pumpkinseed odor during conditioning trials or when tested for recognition 24 h postconditioning, there was a significant effect of individual behavioral tactic on the retention of learned predator recognition. While shy trout continued to exhibit a learned response to pumpkinseed odor when tested 8 days postconditioning, bold trout were not different from our pseudoconditioned controls. These data suggest that the behavioral tactic employed at the time of conditioning influences the ‘memory window’ of acquired information.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jean-Guy Godin, Robert Weladji, and James Grant for discussion and comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. Financial support was provided by Concordia University and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to GEB and the University of Saskatchewan and NSERC to DPC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, Canada, H4B 1R6

    G. E. Brown, P. H. Malka, L. Fregeau & L. Kayello

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5B4

    M. C. O. Ferrari

  3. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 1E2

    D. P. Chivers

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  1. G. E. Brown
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  2. M. C. O. Ferrari
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  3. P. H. Malka
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  4. L. Fregeau
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  5. L. Kayello
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  6. D. P. Chivers
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Correspondence to G. E. Brown.

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Communicated by N. Dingemanse

Ethical standards

All work reported herein was conducted in accordance with all national and provincial regulations governing animal care and approved by Concordia University Animal Research Ethics protocol #AREC-2008-BROW.

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Brown, G.E., Ferrari, M.C.O., Malka, P.H. et al. Retention of acquired predator recognition among shy versus bold juvenile rainbow trout. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 67, 43–51 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1422-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1422-4

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