Individual variation in cognitive style reflects foraging and anti-predator strategies in a small mammal.

ABSTRACT: Balancing foraging gain and predation risk is a fundamental trade-off in the life of animals. Individual strategies to acquire, process, store and use information to solve cognitive tasks are likely to affect speed and flexibility of learning, and ecologically relevant decisions regarding foraging and predation risk. Theory suggests a functional link between individual variation in cognitive style and behaviour (animal personality) via speed-accuracy and risk-reward trade-offs. We tested whether cognitive style and personality affect risk-reward trade-off decisions posed by foraging and predation risk. We exposed 21 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) that were bold, fast learning and inflexible and 18 voles that were shy, slow learning and flexible to outdoor enclosures with different risk leve

SUBMITTER: Mazza V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6626059 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature