Compensatory Responses to Wildlife Control

Andrea S. Griffin; Marie C. Diquelou

doi:10.1017/9781108768450.011

8 - Compensatory Responses to Wildlife Control

Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Findings from the Invasive Common Myna

from Part I - Evolution of Learning Processes

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2022

Andrea S. Griffin and

Edited by

Karen L. Hollis and

Mark A. Krause: Affiliation:
Southern Oregon University
Karen L. Hollis: Affiliation:
Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
Mauricio R. Papini: Affiliation:
Texas Christian University

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Summary

Human predation not only reduces prey densities, but also induces profound phenotypical changes in prey. Changes are increasingly well documented in the context of wildlife exploitation and range from morphological and life history modifications to physiological and behavioral effects. We focus on a form of human predation that has received almost no attention until now: Predation inflicted by lethal control of nuisance, pest, and alien species. We highlight the potential consequences of phenotypical changes in target species and explain the mechanisms by which phenotypical changes can arise, with emphasis on the role of associative learning and generalization. We then present an overview of a research program examining the ways in which the invasive common myna (Acridotheres tristis), one of the most broadly distributed invasive birds globally, is changing its behavior in response to heavy trapping pressure in some areas of Australia. A series of studies demonstrate how mynas learn about novel threats. Free-ranging mynas display compensatory responses to the threats of trapping and the mechanism of change is likely to involve cognition. This work has expanded our understanding of the adaptive significance of learning and memory mechanisms in nonhumans and has informed trapping practices for pest birds in Australia. We hope the chapter will help stimulate more research into the phenotypical changes associated with lethal control for which our work can serve as a model.

Keywords

species management learning cognition invasive species alien species nuisance species wildlife harvesting

Type: Chapter
Information: Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms , pp. 143 - 158

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108768450.011 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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