The role of habituation in the adjustment to urban life: An experimental approach with burrowing owls

BALADRÓN, A.V.; BÓ, M.S.; ISACCH, J.P.; ISACCH, J.P.; CAVALLI, M.; BIONDI, L.M.; CAVALLI, M.; BIONDI, L.M.; BALADRÓN, A.V.; BÓ, M.S.

BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2018 vol. 157 p. 250 - 255

0376-6357

Birds exhibit variation in fear behaviour in response to an approaching human within and between species andacross different habitat contexts. We analyze urban and rural burrowing owls? variation in risk perception alongseparate but consecutive days (Treatment 1) and risk perception within the same day (Treatment 2). Fear behaviourwas measured as flight initiation distances (FIDs) and aggressiveness level when a pedestrian approachedrepeatedly to an owl individual. We predict that the attenuation in fear response along treatmentsshould add support to the habituation hypothesis (decrease the response to a repeatedly stimulus after verifyingthat it is irrelevant) while consistency in behaviour might be indicative of a personality trait. We found that FIDdecreased for measurements made on both treatments in rural owls and also in urban owls for Treatment 2.These results are compatible with a habituation process. We found that aggressiveness remained invariable alongtreatments in both habitats suggesting that different mechanisms underlie these behavioural responses. Ourresults suggest that owls? risk perception to humans can be adjusted based on environmental risk perception andthat individuals are able to recognize and learn when a stimuli stops being a threat.