Bats learn about potential food sources from others: a review

Abstract

Compared to trial-and-error learning, learning from others is often a viable means of adding new adaptive behaviours to an individual’s repertoire. This is especially true in long-lived, group-living species that encounter moderate levels of environmental heterogeneity. Here we review the social learning literature that uses bats as models under the framework of Galef (2009) and Laland (2009) to examine when, where, and from whom bats are most likely to learn socially about food and other foraging behaviour. We conclude that evidence exists for bats learning about novel foods from other bats, learning how to handle such food from other bats, and that bats often learn these ways when uncertain about the quality of different foods available. There is also evidence that young bats learn about new foods from their mothers, and that adult bats learn from other adult bats, even other bat species. However, whether bats more likely to learn from familiar individuals or learn about specific foraging areas from others is less established and warrants further research. We also conclude that phyllostomid bats present the best evidence of social learning about food and suggest future research, including investigating the possibility of nonhuman culture, focus on this diverse group.