Abstract

PEREZ, Guillermo; LARA, Carlos; SIGNORET-POILLON, Martha  and  VICCON-PALE, José A.. Evaluation of the use of visual and location cues by the Broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)foraging in flowers of Penstemon roseus. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2012, vol.83, n.1, pp.144-151. ISSN 2007-8706.

In hummingbirds spatial memory plays an important role during foraging. It is based in use of specific cues (visual) or spatial cues (location of flowers and plants with nectar). However, use of these cues by hummingbirds may change according to the spatial scale they face when visit flowers of one or more plants during foraging. This was tested with individuals of broad-tailed Hummingbird Selasphorus platycercus. To assess the possible variation in the use of cues, experiments were conducted in semi-natural conditions using flowers of Penstemon roseus plant, native in study site. By manipulating the presence/absence of a reward (nectar) and visual cues, we evaluated the use of spatial memory during foraging between 2 plants (experiment 1) and within a single plant (experiment 2). The results showed that hummingbirds used memory of location of plant in whose flowers obtained reward, regardless of the presence of visual cues. On the contrary, in individual flowers of a single plant, after a short learning period hummingbirds can use visual cues to guide their foraging and discriminate the flowers without reward. Also, in the absence of visual cues individuals based their foraging on memory of location of rewarded flower previously visited. These results suggest plasticity in the foraging behavior of hummingbirds influenced by the spatial scale and acquired information from previous visits.

Keywords : spatial memory; visual cues; location; spatial scale.

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