Examining the development of individual recognition in a burrow-nesting procellariiform, the Leach's storm-petrel.
Burrow-nesting petrels use their well-developed sense of smell for foraging, homing to their nest, and mate recognition. The chicks of burrow-nesting petrels can apparently learn odours associated with prey while still in the nest, but the development of individual-specific odour recognition is less well understood. We used a simple two-choice test to determine whether 4- to 6-week-old chicks of a small, burrow-nesting species, the Leach's storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), prefer the scent of their own nest material to (1) the scent of similar organic material collected from the colony or (2) the scent of a conspecific's nest material. Results suggest that chicks clearly preferred the scent of their own nest material to that of similar organic material collected from the colony (96%; N=24; binomial test, P<0.001). Results further suggested that birds preferred the scent of their own nest material to that of a conspecific, though the preference was statistically less robust (67%; N=39; binomial test, P=0.05). Because Leach's storm-petrel chicks do not normally leave their burrow prior to fledging, an ability to recognise individual or nest-specific odours is not likely to be used for homing but instead may be linked to the development of individual recognition in different contexts.
O'Dwyer
Terence W
TW
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. twodwyer@ucdavis.edu
Ackerman
A L
AL
Nevitt
Gabrielle A
GA
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D021641:Recognition, Psychology