Long-term memory of experienced jays facilitates problem-solving by naive group members in the wild.

ABSTRACT: Long-term memory affects animal fitness, especially in social species. In these species, the memory of group members facilitates the acquisition of novel foraging skills through social learning when naïve individuals observe and imitate the successful foraging behavior. Long-term memory and social learning also provide the framework for cultural behavior, a trait found in humans but very few other animal species. In birds, little is known about the duration of long-term memories for complex foraging skills, or the impact of long-term memory on group members. We tested whether wild jays remembered a complex foraging task more than 3 years after their initial experience and quantified the effect of this memory on naïve jay behavior. Experienced jays remembered how to solve the task and their

SUBMITTER: Jo H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10703848 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature