Spatial memory drives foraging strategies of wolves, but in highly individual ways
- The ability of wild animals to navigate and survive in complex and dynamic environments depends on their ability to store relevant information and place it in a spatial context. Despite the centrality of spatial memory, and given our increasing ability to observe animal movements in the wild, it is perhaps surprising how difficult it is to demonstrate spatial memory empirically. We present a cognitive analysis of movements of several wolves (Canis lupus) in Finland during a summer period of intensive hunting and den-centered pup-rearing. We tracked several wolves in the field by visiting nearly all GPS locations outside the den, allowing us to identify the species, location and timing of nearly all prey killed. We then developed a model that assigns a spatially explicit value based on memory of predation success and territorial marking. The framework allows for estimation of multiple cognitive parameters, including temporal and spatial scales of memory. For most wolves, fitted memory-based models outperformed null models by 20 to 50% at predicting locations where wolves chose to forage. However, there was a high amount of individual variability among wolves in strength and even direction of responses to experiences. Some wolves tended to return to locations with recent predation success—following a strategy of foraging site fidelity—while others appeared to prefer a site switching strategy. These differences are possibly explained by variability in pack sizes, numbers of pups, and features of the territories. Our analysis points toward concrete strategies for incorporating spatial memory in the study of animal movements while providing nuanced insights into the behavioral strategies of individual predators.
Author: | Eliezer GurarieORCiD, Chloe BracisORCiD, Angelina BrilliantovaORCiD, Ilpo Kojola, Johanna Suutarinen, Otso OvaskainenORCiDGND, Sriya PotluriORCiD, William F. FaganORCiD |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-620674 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.768478 |
ISSN: | 2296-701X |
Parent Title (English): | Frontiers in ecology and evolution |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
Place of publication: | Lausanne |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2022/03/14 |
Date of first Publication: | 2022/03/14 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2024/06/21 |
Tag: | boundary patrolling; central place foraging; discrete choice modeling; foraging site fidelity; foraging site switching; movement; predation; wolf |
Volume: | 10 |
Issue: | art. 768478 |
Article Number: | 768478 |
Page Number: | 16 |
First Page: | 1 |
Last Page: | 16 |
Note: | Funding: NSF ; DBI1915347 |
Note: | Funding: Academy of Finland ; 309581 |
Note: | Funding: Research Council of Norway ; 223257 |
Note: | Funding: European Research Council (ERC) ; 856506 |
HeBIS-PPN: | 520855310 |
Institutes: | Biowissenschaften |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie) | |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Licence (German): | ![]() |