东方田鼠认知偏向检验及预习、玩伴对觅食行为的影响

Animal’s behavior action largely depend on their cognition and judgment of the environmental conditions, and both of them are affected by the subjective emotion. Therefore, it is both theoretically and practically valuable to find an appropriate way to investigate an animal’s foraging behaviour while taking its emotion and cognition into account, for the purpose of further revealing the formation and dynamic mechanisms of animal’s behavior. Based on the theories and methods from Cognitive Semiotics and Ethology, Our goal is to construct a new cognitive bias approach specifically for small mammalian herbivores. We will also try to induce the reed voles into the aiming emotions by changing their living conditions, then investigate their cognitive and judging process in searching for, locating and biting Digitaria sanguinalis.. We plan to measure behavioral parameters of the subjects’ foraging in artificial food patches. By using focus sampling method, we will record the foraging process of each single vole in the food patch with a camera. Also, The nitrogen content of the food will be measured with Half a trace KaiShi method, and the fiber content of the food with Conventional stalling method. Thus, we achieve their foraging evidences like time of croping the leaf , biting location of the leaf and all the foraging behavioral parameters such as foraging time, residence time, intake rate, energy gains, and etc. So the new cognitive bias approach could been validated.. Aiming at further exploration of adaptive strategies of small mammalian herbivores’ adaptive strategies in foraging, we test the impacts of fore exercise and playmates on reed voles’ cognition, moreover, the evolutionary direction of its feeding habit.

行为动作的发生与个体对环境的认知和判断密切关联，而个体的认知和判断又受到情绪的影响。因此，从情绪和认知角度探索研究动物觅食行为，揭示行为发生及动态机制，对于丰富动物觅食行为理论具有重要意义。本项目拟以东方田鼠为研究对象，运用行为学和认知学的原理及方法，通过改变环境条件诱导田鼠情绪以及基于其采食禾本科植物马唐的认知和判断过程，建立判定植食性小型哺乳动物情绪的新的认知偏向法。采用焦点取样摄像技术、半微量凯氏法和常规静置法，测定实验个体觅食马唐叶片的行为参数，包括选择叶片时间、采食叶片部位、采食和处理叶片时间、觅食回合时间、摄入率、能量收益和滞留时间等，评价判定动物情绪的认知偏向法的有效性；检验预习活动及玩伴对东方田鼠认知的影响，并探明其食性进化方向，以期揭示植食性小型哺乳动物觅食行为的适应性策略。

行为动作的发生与个体对环境的认知和判断密切关联，而个体的认知和判断又受到情绪的影响。因此，从情绪和认知角度探索研究动物觅食行为，揭示行为发生及动态机制，对于丰富动物觅食行为理论具有重要意义。本项目以东方田鼠为研究对象，运用行为学和认知学的原理及方法，探讨了东方田鼠家族群、社群气味、平静情绪、预习及玩伴对个体觅食行为的影响。结果发现：1）东方田鼠以家族群进行觅食活动尽管能在稀释及回避风险上带来某些好处，但这些好处是以降低个体摄入率为代价的；2）熟悉的社群气味会促使成员个体在监测环境风险时，将精力更多地用于观察和监听群内其他成员个体的行为及其发出的警报信息，陌生的社群气味会迫使成员个体将精力由依赖群内其他成员个体的行为转向凭借自身直接警觉周围环境；3）平静情绪能显著提高东方田鼠的认知和判断能力；新建立的植食性小型哺乳动物的认知能力的检验法为开展有关此类研究及临床医学研究提供了新的研究和评价范式；4）有预习和玩伴经历的个体能更快地掌握采食技巧，提高食物摄入率。科学意义在于：检验了社群生活可能带来的觅食代价，修正了传统理论群体生活只有利益而无代价的观点；将动物气味的社会属性应运用于探讨动物的觅食行为领域，丰富了气味研究的生态学内容；采用实验手段调控动物的情绪状态，使其处于平静情绪，检验了平静情绪能使动物的认知能力达到最优这一假说，克服了动物认知学领域通常以兴奋情绪来评价动物的认知能力；在不以工具获取食物的小型植食性哺乳动物身上，亦体现出预习和玩伴能提高其认知能力。在《生态学报》发表学术论文2篇，投稿1篇，修改和撰写2篇，参加国际性学术会议4人次，培养硕士研究生4名。