Thread by @KrzysMiler

(1/6) Are ambush predators limited in their cognitive abilities? Pit-building #antlions provide a great model to study #learning and other issues. #AnimBehav2023 #animalcognition rdcu.be/c3GdT

(2/6) Operant learning is a reversible process in which “reinforcers”, either rewards or punishments, shape behaviour. In our newest work on learning in antlions, we aimed to investigate operant learning in these insects. #AnimBehav2023 rdcu.be/c3Gh2

(3/6) We trained antlions in a T-maze by rewarding them with a suitable microhabitat for pit establishment when they turned to one side and punishing them with an unsuitable one when they turned to the other. #AnimBehav2023

(4/6) Antlions quickly learn to turn in the appropriate direction. About 80% of them turn appropriately after 20 training trials, while the control group, in which the turning direction does not matter, shows a 50/50 chance of turning left or right. #AnimBehav2023

(5/6) Is operant learning affected by adverse developmental conditions? Larvae raised in elevated temp, despite the stress, learn to navigate a T-maze just as well as those raised in benign temp. However, the former remember what they learned for shorter periods than the latter.

(6/6) Take home message is that antlion larvae show operant learning in a T-maze and that larvae stressed during development retain learning worse than those originating from better conditions. Thanks for reading and check out our other work! iecoteam.com @iEcoTeam