Experimental Studies
Informative experimental studies of learning and movement derive from
both field and laboratory settings (Jacobs & Menzel 2014). For example,
experimental resource manipulations demonstrate that hummingbirds can
learn abstract concepts like spatial position (Henderson et al.2006) and can encode spatial location on the basis of surrounding
landmarks (Flores-Abreu et al. 2012). In another field system,
Preisler et al . (2006) tracked elk movements in relation to
experimental treatments involving all-terrain vehicles (ATV) driven
through a landscape. They found that the probability of elk responding
to ATVs was much higher when the animal was on an ATV route, even if the
ATV was far away. These data suggest that these animals have learned to
associate ATV presence with their routes.
In laboratory settings, radial mazes and water mazes (e.g., Leonard and
McNaughton 1990) have been widely used to study how quickly rodents can
learn movement routes and improve their efficiency. Other kinds of
laboratory arenas built for insects, have demonstrated for example that
pesticide exposure can impair spatial learning of the distribution of
resources in bumblebees (Stanley et al. 2015).
Sometimes field and laboratory experiments can be combined with great
benefit, including comparisons among three classic model systems (homing
pigeons, bees, and rats; (Jacobs & Menzel 2014)). For example,
experimental lesioning studies of young homing pigeons, followed by
release in unfamiliar areas, demonstrate that immature birds are very
good at learning movement routes and that there is a consolidation phase
during which experiences (e.g., encounters with landmarks) are neurally
encoded (Bingman et al. 2005).