Learning from the mistakes of others: How female elk (Cervus elaphus) adjust behaviour with age to avoid hunters.

ABSTRACT: In animal behaviour, there is a dichotomy between innate behaviours (e.g., temperament or personality traits) versus those behaviours shaped by learning. Innate personality traits are supposedly less evident in animals when confounded by learning acquired with experience through time. Learning might play a key role in the development and adoption of successful anti-predator strategies, and the related adaptation has the potential to make animals that are more experienced less vulnerable to predation. We carried out a study in a system involving a large herbivorous mammal, female elk, Cervus elaphus, and their primary predator, i.e., human hunters. Using fine-scale satellite telemetry relocations, we tested whether differences in behaviour depending on age were due solely to selection press

SUBMITTER: Thurfjell H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5470680 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature