Object neophobia in the Olrog's gull and its relationship with propensity to try novel food

Abstract

The expansion of human activities into natural environments constantly exposes wild animals to novel and potentially dangerous conditions, forcing them to modify their behaviour to cope with these challenges. Here we analysed the behavioural responses of a threatened South American seabird to novel stimuli in controlled experimental situations. In particular, we assessed responses to novel objects, considering intrinsic characteristics of the individuals (i.e., sex and age), and their relationship with the propensity to try novel food. We tested 40 Olrog’s gull (Larus atlanticus) for neophobia in the presence of different novel objects placed near their familiar food while isolated in outdoor aviaries. We also conducted a novel food test to analyse individuals’ propensity to approach and eat novel food. We found that individuals took longer to consume food in the presence of novel objects compared to the familiar situation. The neophobic responses varied with the object type, but not with either sex or age. The propensity to try novel food did not vary with sex and age, and was not related to their neophobic response towards novel objects. In threatened species like the Olrog’s gull, the differences in neophobic responses of individuals within a population may provide insight about the behavioural flexibility required to cope with environmental challenges, especially when individuals are exposed to unfamiliar stimuli, such as objects or food. This flexibility may be critical to quickly adapt to environmental changes, which are becoming more frequent with the increasing urbanization of natural environments.