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Identification of learning mechanisms in a wild meerkat population.

ABSTRACT: Vigorous debates as to the evolutionary origins of culture remain unresolved due to an absence of methods for identifying learning mechanisms in natural populations. While laboratory experiments on captive animals have revealed evidence for a number of mechanisms, these may not necessarily reflect the processes typically operating in nature. We developed a novel method that allows social and asocial learning mechanisms to be determined in animal groups from the patterns of interaction with, and solving of, a task. We deployed it to analyse learning in groups of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta) presented with a novel foraging apparatus. We identify nine separate learning processes underlying the meerkats' foraging behaviour, in each case precisely quantifying their strength and duration, including local enhancement, emulation, and a hitherto unrecognized form of social learning, which we term 'observational perseverance'. Our analysis suggests a key factor underlying the stability of behavioural traditions is a high ratio of specific to generalized social learning effects. The approach has widespread potential as an ecologically valid tool to investigate learning mechanisms in natural groups of animals, including humans.

SUBMITTER: Hoppitt W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3414518 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identification of learning mechanisms in a wild meerkat population.

Hoppitt Will W Samson Jamie J Laland Kevin N KN Thornton Alex A

PloS one 20120808 8

Vigorous debates as to the evolutionary origins of culture remain unresolved due to an absence of methods for identifying learning mechanisms in natural populations. While laboratory experiments on captive animals have revealed evidence for a number of mechanisms, these may not necessarily reflect the processes typically operating in nature. We developed a novel method that allows social and asocial learning mechanisms to be determined in animal groups from the patterns of interaction with, and ...[more]

PMID: 22905113

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Project description:Background and aimsResistance to synthetic auxin herbicides such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is increasing in weed populations worldwide, which is of concern given the recent introduction of synthetic auxin-resistant transgenic crops. Due to the complex mode of action of the auxinic herbicides, the mechanisms of evolved resistance remain largely uncharacterized. The aims of this study were to assess the level of diversity in resistance mechanisms in 11 populations of the problem weed Raphanus raphanistrum, and to use a high-throughput, whole-genome transcriptomic analysis on one resistant and one susceptible population to identify important changes in gene expression in response to 2,4-D.MethodsLevels of 2,4-D and dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) resistance were quantified in a dose-response study and the populations were further screened for auxin selectivity, 2,4-D translocation and metabolism, expression of key 2,4-D-responsive genes and activation of the mitogen-activated proein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Potential links between resistance levels and mechanisms were assessed using correlation analysis.Key resultsThe transcriptomic study revealed early deployment of the plant defence response in the 2,4-D-treated resistant population, and there was a corresponding positive relationship between auxinic herbicide resistance and constitutive MAPK phosphorylation across all populations. Populations with shoot-wide translocation of 2,4-D had similar resistance levels to those with restricted translocation, suggesting that reduced translocation may not be as strong a resistance mechanism as originally thought. Differences in auxin selectivity between populations point to the likelihood of different resistance-conferring alterations in auxin signalling and/or perception in the different populations.Conclusions2,4-D resistance in wild radish appears to result from subtly different auxin signalling alterations in different populations, supplemented by an enhanced defence response and, in some cases, reduced 2,4-D translocation. This study highlights the dangers of applying knowledge generated from a few populations of a weed species to the species as a whole.

Dataset Information

Identification of learning mechanisms in a wild meerkat population.

Publications

Identification of learning mechanisms in a wild meerkat population.

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