BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO A NOVEL FEEDING PROBLEM IN THE OLROG?S GULL LARUS ATLANTICUS

CASTANO, MELINA V.; BIONDI L. M.; ZUMPANO, FRANCISCO; FAVERO, MARCO; GARCÍA, G. O.

Marine Ornithology

Pacific Seabird Group

Año: 2020

1018-3337

Behavioral innovation is considered an expression of behavioral flexibility and is a source of phenotypic plasticity in animals. In this study,we explored the main components of behavioral innovation (neophobia and exploratory behavior) with respect to social context and age in theOlrog?s Gull Larus atlanticus. Twenty consecutive experimental sessions were performed, involving presentation of a plexiglass box containingfood; the box could be opened and reached by pushing or pulling different lids, each leading to a food reward. Gulls were able to decrease theirneophobic response throughout the course of the experiments. Fifty-three percent of individuals who entered the feeding station contacted thebox. However, no successful box opening was recorded during this study. Age and social context did not affect latency to enter the feedingstation or the time that the individuals invested in exploring the novel object. Social context affected contact flexibility (variation in the locationon the box where the individual made contact); greater flexibility was recorded as the number of juveniles at the feed station increased and thetotal abundance of individuals decreased. Our study demonstrates how knowledge of the propensity to innovate can inform our understandingof the foraging behavior of Olrog´s Gulls, with important implications to potential conservation concerns for this threatened species.