Banca de DEFESA: JULIANA MORAES FERREIRA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : JULIANA MORAES FERREIRA
DATE: 24/11/2023
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Remoto
TITLE:

Effects of urbanization on the cognition and personality of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia)

KEY WORDS:

behavioral flexibility; learning; neophilia; urban gradient

PAGES: 36
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUMMARY:

Constantly changing urban environments offer both opportunities and challenges for species adaptation. Flexibility, innovation, and learning can indicate higher cognitive performance, facilitating adaptation. Personality traits that enable the use of urban resources also plays a crucial role in adaptation to these environments. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of urbanization on the cognitive performance (motor learning) and personality (neophilia) of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) in an urban environment, as well as to investigate whether there is a relationship between cognition and personality in these individuals. To do this, we subjected ten owls in different locations in Salvador, Bahia, to a cognitive test and measured motor learning through the time and number of attempts that each individual took to solve the challenge, which consisted in opening a box with a lure inside. To assess personality, we put eleven individuals through a three-stage test, and neophilia was measured based on the time it took each individual to touch the equipment. Urbanization was measured based on the ratio between the built-up area and the total area around each nest, within a radius of 250m. The urbanization rate varied from 0% to 87%. For the cognition test, there was a reduction in time (p=0.02) and in the number of attempts (p<0.005), revealing that the owls learned to solve the challenge, demonstrating their learning capacity. However, urbanization did not seem to affect this ability (p=0.9). Personality was observed in the owls due to the repeatability of the test results, but no clear relationship was found between neophilia and urbanization (p=0.1), possibly due to the high cost associated with interacting with novel elements in urban environments. The relationship between personality and learning is complex, and no relationship was found between neophilia and motor learning (p=0.6), but other aspects of personality may be related to learning.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - GABRIELLE SÁ MÉLO WINANDY
Presidente - 1679716 - HILTON FERREIRA JAPYASSU
Externa à Instituição - Juliana Lucatelli Dória Santana