Prey selection in the leopard frog: choosing in biased and unbiased situations.
When given the option between a ground-level prey presented in front and another prey presented 90 degrees to the side, leopard frogs have a front preference. When given a choice between prey objects presented at the left and right sides, some individual leopard frogs have a side preference. Repeated prey object presentations at one side predispose leopard frogs to respond to the opposite side when presented with prey objects at both sides. The phenomenon is preserved through a half minute delay between single prey presentations (biasing) and two prey presentations (testing) but not through a three-minute delay between biasing and testing. Ten biasing presentations on a side are sufficient to induce opposite side preference, while three biasing presentations are insufficient. Attempts to permanently modify preferences by completely exhausting responsiveness to a single side were unsuccessful. A neural model for the effect of biasing on behavior is shown.
Stull
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Biology Department, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Gruberg
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D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D007839:Functional Laterality; D009949:Orientation; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D011894:Rana pipiens; D014794:Visual Fields