Social learning in nest-building birds

阿尔弗雷德·拉塞尔·华莱士（Alfred Russel Wallace）在他的《鸟巢哲学》（The Philosophy of Birds' Nests）中写道：“但是，有人反对说，鸟类不会像人类那样学会筑巢，因为所有的鸟类都会像其他物种一样筑巢，即使它们从未见过，只有本能才能使它们做到这一点。毫无疑问，如果这是真的，这将是本能，我只是要求证明这一事实。通过拟议的研究，我想提供第一个实验证据来支持这一说法。具体来说，我建议确定鸟类是否使用其他个体提供的信息来学习筑巢。我会通过实验性地操纵有经验的筑巢斑马雀和红腹灰雀提供给第一次筑巢的信息来做到这一点。在斑胸草雀中，是雄性选择筑巢材料并筑巢，而在红腹灰雀（一种英国本土鸟类）中，是雌性既筑巢又孵蛋。我会问三个具体的问题：什么类型的信息是学习的，鸟类从谁那里学习这些信息，什么时候从其他个体那里学习很重要？鸟类可以从观察有经验的个体筑巢中学到不同类型的信息，包括选择哪种类型的筑巢材料，材料的位置以及如何处理不同类型的材料。斑胸草雀和红腹灰雀都是高度社会化的物种，在自然界中，第一次筑巢的人将有机会看到不同的个体建造多个巢，其中一些可能比其他人更成功（例如抚养小鸡）。最后，我们还不清楚，一旦鸟类有了自己筑巢的经验，它们是否会根据从其他鸟类那里学到的东西来修改随后的巢穴，或者它们是否只是依靠自己的个人经验。通过在实验室里测试两个物种，我可以确定我所看到的反应的一般性，既与建造者的性别有关，也与有经验的建造者提供给第一次建造者的具体信息有关。通过将这些实验室数据与室外鸟类饲养场的鸟类数据相结合，我可以开始评估实验室结果的生态有效性。最后，这种双物种的方法将使我能够充分利用我的宿主实验室目前收集的关于斑胸草雀筑巢的神经基础的数据。对于几乎所有鸟类来说，筑巢是鸟类繁殖成功的关键，因此这是一个重要的背景，在这种背景下，筑巢者将从利用其他鸟类筑巢经验的成功中受益匪浅。证明这两个物种在做出筑巢决定时使用的信息是社会学习的，将开始解决社会认知在多大程度上支持这种鲜为人知但基本的鸟类行为。鉴于人们对鸟类应对气候变化的灵活性越来越关注，现在是时候问一下，那些能够识别和复制一些成功的鸟类，同时避免其他鸟类的错误，是否不那么容易受到环境变化的影响。

In his 'The Philosophy of Birds' Nests (1867) Alfred Russel Wallace wrote: "But, it is objected, birds do not learn to make their nest as man does to build, for all birds will make exactly the same nest as the rest of their species, even if they have never seen one, and it is instinct alone that can enable them to do this. No doubt this would be instinct if it were true, and I simply ask for proof of the fact". With the proposed research I would like to provide the first experimental evidence to support this claim. Specifically, I propose to determine whether birds use information provided by other individuals to learn what nest to build. I would do this via experimentally manipulating the kind of information that is provided by experienced nest-building zebra finches and redpolls to first-time nest builders. In zebra finches it is the male that selects the nesting material and builds the nest while in redpolls, a native British bird, it is the female that both builds the nest and incubates the eggs. Three specific questions I will ask are: what types of information are learned, who do birds learn this information from, and when is it important to learn from other individuals? Different types of information birds could learn from watching experienced individuals build a nest include what type of nest material to select, where that material is located, and how to handle different types of material. Zebra finches and redpolls are both highly social species and in nature, first-time nest builders would have the opportunity to watch multiple nests be built by different individuals, some of which may be more successful (e.g. raise chicks) compared to others (e.g. no chicks). Finally, it is not clear whether once birds have experience building a nest of their own whether they will modify subsequent nests according to what they learn from others, or whether they just rely on their personal experience. By testing two species in the laboratory I can determine the generality of the responses I see, both relative to the sex of the builder and to the specific information provided to the first-time builder from the experienced builder. By coupling those laboratory data with data from birds building in out-door aviaries I can begin to assess the ecological validity of the laboratory results. Finally, this dual-species approach will allow me to exploit fully the data my host laboratory is currently collecting on the neural basis of nest building in zebra finches. For nearly all birds, nest building is the lynchpin to that bird's reproductive success and so it is a vital context in which a builder would benefit enormously from capitalising on the success of others' nest-building experiences. Demonstrating what information is used by these two species when making nest-building decisions is socially learned will begin to address the extent to which social cognition underpins this little-known but fundamental avian behaviour. Given the increasing concern over the flexibility of birds to respond to a changing climate it is timely to ask whether those birds that can recognise and copy the success of some, while avoiding the errors of others, are less vulnerable to environmental changes.