Research led by scientists from the University of Wyoming and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior shows that migrating animals refine their behavior as they get older, suggesting that experiential learning is an important part of successful migration.
Research led by scientists from the University of Wyoming and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior shows that migrating animals refine their behavior as they get older, suggesting that experiential learning is an important part of successful migration.
While genetics and social behavior are important factors shaping animal migrations, information gained through individual experience also appears to help shape migratory movements, says a research team led by Ellen Aikens. Aikens, who has a joint faculty appointment with UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, was among the first cohort of assistant professors hired in 2023 by UW’s new School of Computing. Aikens’ research at the intersection of animal behavior and data science is driven by new possibilities from advanced computing and data science.
The migration findings appear today (March 4) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s most prestigious multidisciplinary scientific journals covering the biological, physical and social sciences.
Read more at: University of Wyoming
A white stork flies in Germany, where researchers tracked the birds’ migrations and concluded that they incrementally straighten their migration routes to find more direct ways to move between destinations during the spring migration to summer breeding and nesting grounds. (Photo Credit: Christian Ziegler)
