Constitutive and Operational Variation of Learning in Foraging Predatory Mites.
Learning is widely documented across animal taxa but studies stringently scrutinizing the causes of constitutive or operational variation of learning among populations and individuals are scarce. The ability to learn is genetically determined and subject to constitutive variation while the performance in learning depends on the immediate circumstances and is subject to operational variation. We assessed variation in learning ability and performance of plant-inhabiting predatory mites, Amblyseius swirskii, caused by population origin, rearing diet, and type of experience. Using an early learning foraging paradigm, we determined that homogeneous single prey environments did not select for reduced learning ability, as compared to natural prey-diverse environments, whereas a multi-generational pollen diet resulted in loss of learning, as compared to a diet of live prey. Associative learning produced stronger effects than non-associative learning but both types of experience produced persistent memory. Our study represents a key example of environmentally caused variation in learning ability and performance.
Group of Arthropod Ecology and Behavior, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
Michael
M
Seiter
Group of Arthropod Ecology and Behavior, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.|Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Peter
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1529-3198
P
Schausberger
D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet / Q000379:methods; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008925:Mites / Q000502:physiology*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods; D010944:Plants / Q000469:parasitology; D011058:Pollen; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*