Landscape heterogeneity and novelty drive avian oscillatory flight behaviour during forebrain Wulst-Dependent visual map learning
Data files
Feb 21, 2025 version files 11.17 KB
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land_sea_rei.csv
1.22 KB
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novelty_familiarity_rei.csv
5.93 KB
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oscillation_pigeon_procroysoc.R
1.56 KB
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README.md
2.46 KB
Abstract
Homing pigeons rely on familiar landscape features in learning a visual map, which is orchestrated by the forebrain visual Wulst and hippocampus. Recent GPS tracking studies showed that pigeons with damage to the visual Wulst or hippocampus exhibited a still poorly understood, persistent oscillatory flight behaviour, unlike intact pigeons whose oscillations decrease with experience. To evaluate whether landscape heterogeneity influences the extent of these oscillations, we compared the flight behaviour of both intact and Wulst-lesioned pigeons when flying over the sea vs land. Regardless of treatment, pigeons exhibited less oscillatory flight behaviour over the homogeneous landscape of the sea. Further releases from familiar and unfamiliar sites tested whether oscillatory flight behaviour may be influenced by the level of familiarity with the landscape. Indeed, intact pigeons reduced their oscillatory behaviour as landscape familiarity increased. By contrast, Wulst-damaged pigeons persisted in displaying robust oscillatory flight behaviour regardless of the level of landscape familiarity, suggesting that previously experienced landscapes remained relatively unfamiliar to them. The data support the hypotheses that oscillatory flight behaviour reflects active visual scanning, most pronounced over novel, heterogeneous landscapes, contributing to visual map learning. Further, the data suggest a crucial role of the forebrain Wulst for such learning.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qrfj6q5r9
Description of the data and file structure
R script, GLMM model, and dataset used
Files and variables
File: oscillation_pigeon_procroysoc.R
Description: R script
Software: R, version 4.4.2
File: land_sea_rei.csv
Description: dataset of the first model of the paper
Variables
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- id: subject identity
- treatment: C (control pigeons), and W (Wulst-lesioned pigeons)
- landscape: landscape overflown (sea or land)
- rei: oscillatory index (computed as the ratio between the efficiency index of the original track (EI) and the efficiency index of the track obtained by computing the moving average of Latitudes and Longitudes across 40 consecutive fixes (EImm))
File: novelty_familiarity_rei.csv
Description: dataset of the second and third models of the paper
Variables
- :
- id: subject identity
- treatment: C (control pigeons), and W (Wulst-lesioned pigeons)
- RS: release site: Arnaccio (AR), Asciano (AS), Livorno (LI), Secche della Meloria (ME)
- exp_RS: experience from the release site from 1 to 6 (number of experimental releases from the correspondent release site (RS)). Each pigeon was subjected to one individual release from Asciano, Livorno, Secche della Meloria. Subsequently, the pigeons were subjected to six individual, repeated releases from Arnaccio.
- rei: oscillatory index (computed as the ratio between the efficiency index of the original track (EI) and the efficiency index of the track obtained by computing the moving average of Latitudes and Longitudes across 40 consecutive fixes (EImm))
- ff.ratio: ratio of fidelity fixes (fixes falling within 100 m from any fix of any previous track of the same subject over the total number of fixes, computed for each track)
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Access information
All the available, original tracks are accessible at the data archive Movebank (www.movebank.org).
Cioccarelli S, Giunchi D, Casini G, Pollonara E, Bingman VP, Gagliardo A. 2025. Data from: Landscape heterogeneity and novelty drive avian oscillatory flight behaviour during forebrain wulst-dependent visual map learning. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.337