St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Register / Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Specialized learning in antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), pit-digging predators, shortens vulnerable larval stage

Thumbnail
View/Open
Hollisetal_pone0017958.pdf (394.0Kb)
Date
29/03/2011
Author
Hollis, Karen
Cogswell, Heather
Snyder, Kenzie
Guillette, Lauren
Nowbahari, Elise
Keywords
QL Zoology
QH Natural history
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Unique in the insect world for their extremely sedentary predatory behavior, pit-dwelling larval antlions dig pits, and then sit at the bottom and wait, sometimes for months, for prey to fall inside. This sedentary predation strategy, combined with their seemingly innate ability to detect approaching prey, make antlions unlikely candidates for learning. That is, although scientists have demonstrated that many species of insects possess the capacity to learn, each of these species, which together represent multiple families from every major insect order, utilizes this ability as a means of navigating the environment, using learned cues to guide an active search for food and hosts, or to avoid noxious events. Nonetheless, we demonstrate not only that sedentary antlions can learn, but also, more importantly, that learning provides an important fitness benefit, namely decreasing the time to pupate, a benefit not yet demonstrated in any other species. Compared to a control group in which an environmental cue was presented randomly vis-à-vis daily prey arrival, antlions given the opportunity to associate the cue with prey were able to make more efficient use of prey and pupate significantly sooner, thus shortening their long, highly vulnerable larval stage. Whereas ‘‘median survival time,’’ the point at which half of the animals in each group had pupated, was 46 days for antlions receiving the Learning treatment, that point never was reached in antlions receiving the Random treatment, even by the end of the experiment on Day 70. In addition, we demonstrate a novel manifestation of antlions’ learned response to cues predicting prey arrival, behavior that does not match the typical ‘‘learning curve’’ but which is well-adapted to their sedentary predation strategy. Finally, we suggest that what has long appeared to be instinctive predatory behavior is likely to be highly modified and shaped by learning.
Citation
Hollis , K , Cogswell , H , Snyder , K , Guillette , L & Nowbahari , E 2011 , ' Specialized learning in antlions ( Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae ), pit-digging predators, shortens vulnerable larval stage ' , PLoS One , vol. 6 , no. 3 , e17958 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017958
Publication
PLoS One
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017958
ISSN
1932-6203
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2011 Hollis et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Description
Formal Correction: This article has been formally corrected to address the following errors. Figures 2 and 3 were switched in production. The image listed as Figure 3 is actually Figure 2, and the image listed as Figure 2 is actually Figure 3. The legends are correct.
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URL
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017958
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3565

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter