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Cache protection strategies of a non-social food-caching corvid, Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)

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Abstract

Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana), a non-social corvid, cache much of their food in order to survive periods of resource uncertainty. These caches are at risk as they are subject to pilferage from other animals including conspecifics. Potentially, nutcrackers can ensure the safety of these caches by keeping track of whether they have been observed making a cache and subsequently engage in cache protection strategies—strategies that have been shown by other members of the corvid family (e.g., scrub-jays and ravens). Behaviors including creating more caches, eating a higher proportion of seeds, and re-caching existing compromised sites have been shown in laboratory settings with social corvids and have provided preliminary evidence of the complex cognitive abilities of corvids. In the present study, Clark’s nutcrackers are shown to engage in similar cache protection behaviors when observed by a conspecific. Furthermore, we show that these behaviors are a result of social, rather than associative, cues.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant to DMK. Debbie M. Kelly and Dawson Clary are now at the University of Manitoba. We would like to thank Danielle Fontaine for conducting the experiments as well as Jori Harrison and Austen Smith for scoring the data. We would also like to thank Anders Brodin and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on the manuscript. Preliminary data for this study were used for partial completion of an undergraduate honor’s thesis by Danielle Fontaine at the University of Saskatchewan. All experiments reported in this manuscript complied with the current laws of Canada. The use of animals in this study was carried out with strict adherence to the guidelines set out by the Canadian Council on Animal Care.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 65 Arts Building, 9 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada

    Dawson Clary & Debbie M. Kelly

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Road, P401 Duff Roblin Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Debbie M. Kelly

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  1. Dawson Clary
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Correspondence to Debbie M. Kelly.

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Clary, D., Kelly, D.M. Cache protection strategies of a non-social food-caching corvid, Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana). Anim Cogn 14, 735–744 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-011-0408-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-011-0408-3

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