| Abstract: | Previous studies have revealed that if mallard ducklings are given social experience with broodmates after their initial exposure to a stuffed mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) hen, they later show a visual preference for the familiar mallard over an unfamiliar redhead (Aythya americana) model. Birds kept in isolation do not make this difficult discrimination. We examined when the social experience with siblings must occur in order to contribute to maternal imprinting. We allowed 24-hr-old domestic mallard ducklings to follow a stuffed mallard hen for 30 min (training). This experience resulted in a preference for the familiar mallard over the unfamiliar redhead hen in a simultaneous choice test 48 hrs after hatching only if the birds were allowed social experience with broodmates after the training trial (i.e., from 24 to 48 hrs). Thus the visual features of the mallard hen that are necessary in order to distinguish it from the redhead hen become consolidated only after more than 1 hr into the posttraining social rearing; we term this process retroactive excitation. These results provide evidence of a nonobvious experiential contribution that conspecifics make to the development of species-typical social behavior. They also suggest that some learning and memorial processes may operate rather differently in adults and immature animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
