Comparative foraging strategies of sheep and goats in a T-maze apparatus

The foraging behavior of eight sheep and 11 goats was studied using a T-maze. In the first experiment, animals were given two free choices in the maze. In each case, the selection of either arm would result in their obtaining high quality food—a situation classified as a ‘win’. Animals of both speci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied animal behaviour science 1995, Vol.44 (1), p.37-45
Main Authors: Hosoi, E., Swift, D.M., Rittenhouse, L.R., Richards, R.W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
foraging
foraging experience
Foraging strategies
Goats
Sheep
T-maze
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Summary:The foraging behavior of eight sheep and 11 goats was studied using a T-maze. In the first experiment, animals were given two free choices in the maze. In each case, the selection of either arm would result in their obtaining high quality food—a situation classified as a ‘win’. Animals of both species tended to return to the originally chosen arm on the second choice, an apparent win-stay strategy. This expression of a win-stay strategy could be attributed to the fact that the animals simply showed a strong lateral preference (handedness). A losing possibility was added in Experiment 2 by introducing low quality food into one arm of the maze. Goats responded by increasing the frequency of shifting on the second free choice, particularly when the first choice was a losing one. Sheep did not respond to this possibility with a measurable change in behavior. Results suggest that foraging behavior may be more strongly influenced by negative or losing experiences than by winning ones, and that effects of losing need to be better incorporated into foraging theory.
ISSN:0168-1591
1872-9045
DOI:10.1016/0168-1591(95)00572-A