Does novelty influence the foraging decisions of a scavenger?

ABSTRACT: Acquiring knowledge about the environment is crucial for survival. Animals, often driven by their exploratory tendencies, gather valuable information regarding food resources, shelter, mating partners, etc. However, neophobia, or avoiding novel environmental stimuli, can constrain their exploratory behaviour. While neophobia can reduce potential predation risks, decreased exploratory behaviour resulting from it may limit the ability to discover highly rewarding resources. Dogs (Canis familiaris) living in semi-urban and urban environments as free-ranging populations, although subject to various selection forces, typically have negligible predation pressure. These dogs are scavengers in human-dominated environments; thus, selection against object-neophobia can provide benefits

SUBMITTER: Bhattacharjee D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10961059 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature