Sympatric species of threespine stickleback differ in their performance in a spatial learning task
Sympatric species of threespine stickleback differ in their performance in a spatial learning task
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DOI：
10.1007/s00265-008-0625-1
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发表时间：
2008-10-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Braithwaite, Victoria A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Odling-Smee, Lucy C.;Boughman, Janette W.;Braithwaite, Victoria A.
越来越多的证据表明，在不同的分类群中，认知功能是经过选择的，这导致了不同的分类群在不同的选择环境中具有不同的认知能力。例如，生活在空间复杂环境中的物种可能具有良好的空间学习能力。通过比较两种新近分化的三刺鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus complex）在空间学习任务中的表现，研究了当地栖息地条件是否会影响学习。这两个物种对称地生活在几个湖泊中。底栖生物占据空间结构的植被滨海带，而湖泊生物占据空间均质开放的远洋带。我们训练鱼在t形迷宫中找到隐藏的奖励，并询问它们是通过学习以身体为中心的运动模式（向左或向右转）还是通过使用植物地标来做到这一点。底栖动物和极限动物都使用转弯和地标线索，但底栖动物的学习速度几乎是极限动物的两倍。这种差异与底栖和沼泽刺鱼具有空间学习能力的假设是一致的，这种能力非常适合它们的沿海和远洋栖息地的空间复杂性。我们的发现增加了对学习进化的理解。
Increasing evidence suggests that cognitive function is under selection in diverse taxa and that this results in different cognitive abilities in taxa experiencing different selective environments. For example, species inhabiting spatially complex environments might be expected to have good spatial learning ability. We investigated whether local habitat conditions influence learning by comparing the performance of two recently diverged species of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus complex) in a spatial learning task. The two species reside sympatrically in several lakes. Benthics occupy the spatially structured vegetated littoral zone, whereas limnetics occupy the spatially homogenous open-water pelagic zone. We trained fish to locate a hidden reward in a T-maze and asked whether they did so by learning a body-centred pattern of movement (turn left or right) or by using plant landmarks. Both benthics and limnetics used turn and landmark cues, but benthics learnt the task almost twice as quickly as limnetics. This difference is consistent with the hypothesis that benthic and limnetic sticklebacks are equipped with spatial learning abilities well suited to the spatial complexity of their littoral and pelagic habitats. Our findings add to the understanding of the evolution of learning.