title: Role of olfaction in the foraging behavior and trial-and-error learning in short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx.
abstract: We observed the foraging behavior of short-nosed fruit bats, Cynopterus sphinx, in captivity. The role of olfaction in their foraging behavior was examined using real fruit, mimetic fruit, and mimetic fruit soaked in the juice of real fruit. The results showed that C. sphinx visited the real fruit more often than the mimetic fruit, but they had no preference between real fruit and treated mimetic fruit. Our experiment indicates that this bat has the ability to find and identify fruit by olfaction. We also tested for behavior of trial-and-error learning. Our observations revealed that the bats could form a sensory memory of the olfactory cue (cedar wood oil) after five days of training because they responded to the olfactory cues. Our results provide the evidence that C. sphinx can establish the connection between the fruit and a non-natural odor through learning and memory with the assistance of olfaction, and can thus recognize a variety of odors by trial-and-error learning. This behavioral flexibility based on olfactory cues will be beneficial for the short-nosed fruit bat in foraging.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China; Natural History Museum of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning 530012, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Guangjian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Liangjing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Qiqi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China.
authors.forename: Jinping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou 510260, China. Electronic address: zhanglb@gdei.gd.cn.
authors.forename: Libiao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009812:Odorants; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cynopterus sphinx; Foraging behavior; Odor; Olfaction; Trial-and-error learning