Effects of diet on captive black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) food preference
Zoo BiologyPublished 1 January 1996
Astrid Vargas, Stanley H. Anderson
Citations24
SJR quartileQ2
SJR score0.42
SNIP0.63
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
Higher amounts of prairie dog in the ferrets' early diet led to a higher preference for this food item when ferrets reached adulthood, which has important implications for black-footed ferret recovery and have been considered in the reintroduction protocol.
Abstract
Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) are both habitat and prey specialists that depend on prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for food and utilize prairie dog burrows for refuge. In this study we investigated the effects of captive diet during early development on adult black-footed ferret food preferences. To test the hypothesis that early diet affects the food preferences of adult black-footed ferrets, we exposed 22 kits (divided into three experimental groups) to different quantities of prairie dog in the diet: no prairie dog, prairie dog three times per week, and prairie dog daily during the assumed sensitive period for olfactory imprinting, i.e., between 60–90 postnatal days. At age 5 months, kits were individually tested in a food choice cafeteria trial. Results indicated that higher amounts of prairie dog in the ferrets' early diet led to a higher preference for this food item when ferrets reached adulthood. These results have important implications for black-footed ferret recovery and have been considered in the reintroduction protocol. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Keywords
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
The AukThe Companion in the Bird's World
580 Citations1937Konrad Lorenz
The doctrine of 'releasers,' herein set forth, seems at last to offer a sound and satisfying explanation of that riddle so long embodied in 'the secondary sexual characters of birds,' and one which Darwin, when struggling with his 'Theory of Sexual Selection,' would have welcomed with open arms.
Animal BehaviourHow do sensitive periods arise and what are they for?
466 Citations1979Patrick Bateson
Annual Review of Ecology and SystematicsEcological Significance of Imprinting and Early Learning
423 Citations1975Klaus Immelmann
A review in a series mainly devoted to the field of ecology of imprinting, where it is being realized more and more that imprinting may also be of considerable ecological and evolutionary significance.
Recent research in psychologyEnriched and Impoverished Environments
251 Citations1987Michael Renner, Mark R. Rosenzweig
Advances in the study of behaviorSexual and Other Long-Term Aspects of Imprinting in Birds and Other Species
251 Citations1972Klaus Immelmann
The chapter discusses the four main criteria that are the characteristic for imprinting, and discusses the significance of the early determination of sexual preferences for the general concept of imprinting and the biological function and possible evolutionary consequences of sexual imprinting.
EcologyThe Evolution of Coloniality in White‐tailed and Black‐tailed Prairie Dogs (Sciuridae: Cynomys Leucurus and C. Ludovicianus)
200 Citations1981John L. Hoogland
An analysis of prairie dog foraging patterns indicated that there is no social facilitation of foraging in terms of either group hunting of either large or elusive prey, the location of large, scattered food supplies, or modification of the soil in order to effect the growth of vegetation that is more favorable or more abundant than that which would otherwise result.
ScienceFood Imprinting in the Snapping Turtle, <i>Chelydra serpentina</i>
117 Citations1966Gordon M. Burghardt, Eckhard H. Hess
Three groups of hatchling snapping turtles, totaling 20, were fed either meat, fish, or worms and when they were tested for preference after 12 daily feedings, each preferred the diet to which it was accustomed.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological SciencesIs imprinting such a special case?
90 Citations1990Patrick Bateson
Distinguishing between the sub-processes that underlie an overall change in behaviour serves to make some overdue links between different areas of knowledge about learning which have hitherto been poorly connected.
Current Opinion in NeurobiologyOlfactory imprinting
55 Citations1993Robyn Hudson
Given the substantial addition of neural elements occurring during the perinatal period, these paradigms raise the question as to how the olfactory system, and eventually the brain, is able to acquire and retain information under conditions of major neural growth and change.
Animal BehaviourThe role of experience in the development of food preferences in gull chicks
55 Citations1968Victor E. Rabinowitch
Experiments were carried out with captive herring gull and ring-billed gull chicks to determine the effect of restricted feeding experience on the formation of food preferences, suggesting that lack of familiarity with a food material may be equivalent to non-recognition of that material as food.
BehaviourThe Role of Experience in the Development and Retention of Seed Preferences in Zebra Finches
52 Citations1969Victor E. Rabinowitch
It is concluded that restriction to a non-preferred seed during the first 5 weeks of life induces a preference for that seed in Zebra Finches.
Animal BehaviourChanges in chicks' responses to novel moving objects over the sensitive period for imprinting
51 Citations1964Patrick Bateson
The negative relations between the measures of avoidance and the strength of following support the view that they are all measures of the birds' ability to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar objects.
Canadian Journal of ZoologyA comparison of hibernation in the black-tailed prairie dog, white-tailed prairie dog, and Wyoming ground squirrel
49 Citations1986Henry J. Harlow, George E. Menkens
Black-tailed prairie dogs have been reported to be active above ground during periods throughout the year and have, therefore, been described as being incapable of hibernation.
Behavioural ProcessesImprinting on prey odours in ferrets () and its neural correlates
35 Citations1986Raimund Apfelbach
The results show that the maturation of the external plexiform layer with respect to the number of dentritic spines and synapses, occurs at a time when the animal is most sensitive to olfactory imprinting stimuli.
Behavioral Ecology and SociobiologyTransmission of food preferences in spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) via nose-mouth interaction between mothers and weanlings
31 Citations1989Steven A. McFadyen‐Ketchum, Richard H. Porter
An active role by Acomys mothers in the development of offspring food preferences is suggested, with mothers maintaining a stereotypic posture during nose-mouth investigation, providing both a source of specific food cues and a context in which pups could become familiar with them.
Neuroscience LettersOlfactory deprivation enhances normal spine loss in the olfactory bulb of developing ferrets
26 Citations1985Raimund Apfelbach, E Weiler
In ferrets, exposed continuously to saturated levels of geraniol odor in the cage environment, the normal decline in spine number is significantly enhanced and the significance of these events to olfactory imprinting and plasticity in the developing brain is discussed.
The American Midland NaturalistGrowth and Physical Development of Captive-Raised Black-Footed Ferrets (Mustela nigripes)
22 Citations1996Astrid Vargas, Stanley H. Anderson
Postnatal development of captive-raised black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) is described and key developmental stages of growing kits are summarized and baseline information for the various zoos and breeding facilities involved in the recovery of this endangered carnivore is provided.
Zeitschrift für TierpsychologieOlfactory Sign Stimulus for Prey Selection in Polecats (<i>Putorius putorius</i> L.)<sup>1</sup>
22 Citations1973Raimund Apfelbach
Die Kenntnis des Geruches einer naturlichen Beute ist jedoch nicht angeboren, sondern mus wahrend einer sensiblen Periode erworben werden, die sich uber den zweiten and dritten Lebensmonat erstreckt.
OikosFood Preferences of Voles Related to Post-Weaning Nutrition
8 Citations1993Lennart Hansson
A hypothesis that early food conditions affect food preferences was tested by examining food selection in animals that were given more and less coarse food for various periods, indicating that effects on digestive physiology and food preferences occurred shortly after weaning.
Cellular and Molecular Life SciencesApplication of decision theory in understanding food choice behavior of hatchling loggerhead sea turtles and chemosensory imprinting in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles
8 Citations1989Craig W. Steele, Mark Grassman +2 more
Modelling results indicate that food choice behavior of hatchlings is better described by a model based on set releasing value theory and that choicebehavior of chemically imprinted juveniles is better description by a models based on choice threshold theory.
Journal of Applied IchthyologyFood preferences and selection by common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fry under different feeding regimes
7 Citations1990Rina Chakrabarti, B. B. Jana +1 more
While phytoplankton was strongly avoided, as evident in the electivity index, cladocerans constituted an important source of natural food for common carp fry held in all five culture systems, which differ in management protocols.