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Experience teaches plants to learn faster and forget slower in environments where it matters

  • Behavioral ecology - Original research
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Abstract

The nervous system of animals serves the acquisition, memorization and recollection of information. Like animals, plants also acquire a huge amount of information from their environment, yet their capacity to memorize and organize learned behavioral responses has not been demonstrated. In Mimosa pudica—the sensitive plant—the defensive leaf-folding behaviour in response to repeated physical disturbance exhibits clear habituation, suggesting some elementary form of learning. Applying the theory and the analytical methods usually employed in animal learning research, we show that leaf-folding habituation is more pronounced and persistent for plants growing in energetically costly environments. Astonishingly, Mimosa can display the learned response even when left undisturbed in a more favourable environment for a month. This relatively long-lasting learned behavioural change as a result of previous experience matches the persistence of habituation effects observed in many animals.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Elisa Azzarello and Elisa Masi for assistance with setting up the light environments, and Leigh Simmons, Joseph Tomkins, Anthony Trewavas, Daniel Robert for valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by Research Fellowships from the University of Western Australia and the Australian Research Council to M. G. and research funding from European Commission to S. M.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Monica Gagliano

  2. School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Michael Renton

  3. AIMS, The Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Martial Depczynski

  4. LINV, Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Science, University of Firenze, Sesto F.no (FI), Firenze, Italy

    Stefano Mancuso

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  1. Monica Gagliano
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  2. Michael Renton
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  4. Stefano Mancuso
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Correspondence to Monica Gagliano.

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Communicated by Richard Karban.

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Gagliano, M., Renton, M., Depczynski, M. et al. Experience teaches plants to learn faster and forget slower in environments where it matters. Oecologia 175, 63–72 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2873-7

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