Cognitive processes for localizing roosts in free-ranging bats

Dissertation, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Universität Greifswald, 2020

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Hernández-Montero, Jesús Rafael (VerfasserIn)
Körperschaft: Universität Greifswald (Grad-verleihende Institution)
Weitere Verfasser: Kerth, Gerald (AkademischeR BetreuerIn), Kappeler, Peter M. (AkademischeR BetreuerIn)
Format: UnknownFormat
Sprache:eng
Veröffentlicht: Greifswald 2020
Schlagworte:
Hochschulschrift > Fledermäuse > Schlaf > Unterkunft > Lokalisation > Orientierungsverhalten > Kognitiver Prozess > Räumliches Gedächtnis > Assoziatives Lernen
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Zusammenfassung:Dissertation, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Universität Greifswald, 2020
Associative learning, Bat behavior, Cognition, Social information use, Spatial memory, Bat
Bats spend half of their life at roosting sites. Hence, exploring for potential roosts is an essential task for their survival, especially for those species which switch roosts regularly, such as several temperate bat species. However, localizing new roosts is a difficult task due to bats’ sensory limitations (e.g., vision, echolocation range). To compensate such constrains, it has been hypothesized that bats rely on cognitive processes like associative learning, spatial memory, social information use and memory retention for an efficient roost localization. However, no previous study has assessed these cognitive skills under natural conditions. The aim of my thesis was to assess how individually RFID-marked, free-ranging bats use different cognitive processes when localizing suitable day roosts. For this purpose, I used a pairwise roost-quality (suitable vs. unsuitable) choice experiment with automatic monitoring and assessed bats’ cognitive processes according to different cues available. Cues were echo-reflective (spectral signature of boxes), spatial (position of the box within the experimental pair) and social (presence of conspecific at roosts), each one linked to a different cognitive process. I found that Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii) used associative learning to discriminate between suitable and unsuitable newly placed boxes according to their echo-reflective cues. However, when individuals returned to known suitable roosts, they relied more on spatial memory ...
Beschreibung:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 31-37
Beschreibung:vi, 118 Seiten
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