Temporal unpredictability of rewards shapes precision but not persistence of ...[Allison Young]

Описание: To acquire resources efficiently, animals often have to search. Search entails significant costs, which accumulate as rewards are not found. Thus we expect that selection would favor the ability
to adjust search strategies (where, when, and how long to search) according to the probability that search would lead to reward. We studied how the precision and persistence of search behavior
are affected by experience with unpredictability in reward timing in honey bees (Apis mellifera). Bees were trained either to a feeder that provided a high concentration sucrose reward at the same
time every day, or one that provided a high concentration sucrose reward at a different time every day. We hypothesized that this would lead to differences in temporal search patterns when bees
arrived at an unexpectedly unrewarding feeder. We found that bees accustomed to unpredictably timed periods of high reward searched more broadly across time and showed stronger
anticipatory behavior. However, these bees were not more persistent in visiting unrewarding feeders. Taken together, these results reveal how experience with predictability of reward can shape
short-term adjustments of search behavior.