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If you have any questions or comments about the materials please contact me by phone or email: Beth Burritt 435-797-3576 beth.burritt@usu.edu. Why do animals prefer certain foods and locations?. Behavior. Consequences. Why do animals prefer to eat certain foods?. Early Experience Matters
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If you have any questions or comments about the materials please contact me by phone or email:Beth Burritt435-797-3576beth.burritt@usu.edu
Behavior Consequences
Young herbivores learn quickly from mom, and they remember for years
Lambs learn quickly,and remember for years Intake of wheat, g/d Exposure to Wheat (1 h/d for 5 d at 6 wk age)
Lambs eat what mom eats... Number of bites/lamb
....even after weaning Serviceberry, % of bites
Experience affects food intake Intake, g/kg body weight
...and preference Experienced Inexperienced
Trans-Generational Dynamics Does from Four Regions Offspring next four generations
Peers Affect Preference Larkspur (% bites) Year Averse Control 1993 0 20 1994 0 12 1995 0 11 Control Averse
Experience Affects Foraging Skills Bites/minute 6 months
Experience Affects Foraging Skills Bites/minute 18 months
Maxfield Thompson
MaxfieldThompson • Calf • mother • Yearlings • peers • 2-years age • drought • 3-years age • mother
sheep, cattle, goats deer, elk, bighorn sheep, moose sage grouse, geese, neo-tropical migratory birds
Experience Causes Changes Neurological, Morphological, Physiological The body determines the structure of experience, experience determines the structure of the body.
Same straw Different performance
Experience Influences Performance Year 1Year 2Year 3 Body weight* * * Body condition * * * Milk production* * - Post-partum interval* * -
Do white-tailed deer in the Adirondacks behave as gas molecules?
Wild and domestic animals moved to unfamiliar environments suffer more from predation, malnutrition, and ingestion of poisonous plants than animals familiar with the environment…
…yet, we buy and sell animals, and move them to unfamiliar environments, without concern for their culture of origin, and then wonder why they don’t perform well…