Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for

 

Title

Do herbivores associate flavors with specific consequences in flavor aversion learning?

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

October 2007

Comments

Published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science 107 (2007) 252–261.

Abstract

Goats were first offered a novel, maple-flavored diet paired with either lithium chloride (LiCl) or oxalic acid (OA) delivered intraruminally. Aversion to maple diet persisted for 6 days, regardless of toxin. Following a 10-day intermission, aversion to maple diet was reacquired (spontaneous recovery) among subjects previously dosed with LiCl but not for subjects receiving OA. All subjects were then offered two diets: the maple diet previously paired with LiCl or OA and a novel grape-flavored diet. Immediately following consumption of both diets, all subjects were dosed with LiCl. Preference for maple and grape diets was assessed by two-choice test. Goats avoided maple diet for only 1 day, regardless of their previous experience with maple diet (paired with LiCl or OA). These results indicate that goats generalized the postingestive consequences of the two toxins. Furthermore, presence of a novel flavor (grape) during toxin exposure contributed to rapid extinction of the aversion to maple flavor.