Learning on the job? Foraging strategies of juvenile versus adult Lesser black-backed gulls at their first migratory stopover.

Developing efficient foraging strategies is critical for survival, especially during the high-mortality post-fledging period in birds. This period is particularly challenging for migratory species, where juveniles must navigate unfamiliar environments with limited experience and knowledge. Our study focused on the foraging strategies of 20 juvenile lesser black-backed gulls () during the first 20 days of their initial migratory stopover.

From pupil to performance: Exploring the role of tonic norepinephrine levels in response inhibition using pretrial pupil measures.

Response inhibition is key to flexible behavior. Importantly, performance in any task, including response inhibition tasks, fluctuates on a moment-to-moment basis. Using pupillometry, we investigated the relationship between these behavioral fluctuations in response inhibition and naturally occurring fluctuations of norepinephrine (NE) levels in the brain before a given trial has even started.

Early-life group size influences response inhibition, but not the learning of it, in Japanese quails.

In complex social environments, animals benefit from suppressing inappropriate responses (known as Response Inhibition) to avoid conflicts and maintain group cohesion. Recent research suggests that an individual's early-life social environment can shape their response inhibition. However, these findings have mostly been correlational, and results vary across species.

Breeding density affects the movements of gull chicks, the size of their home ranges and their association with neighbours.

Colonies of ground-nesting species often have heterogeneous nest densities and their offspring experience different social conditions depending on the size and location of the breeding territory. For example, unintentional territory crossing by mobile chicks can trigger strong aggression from neighbouring adults, as observed in semi-precocial gulls. This would be expected to shape chicks' movement tendencies, exploratory behaviour and propensity for social contact through aversive feedback learning or pre-natal maternal effects, as mothers may pre-adapt their offspring's behaviour to the expected early life conditions.