Social learning and diffusion of new foraging techniques in goats, Capra hircus

Abstract

Social learning, which enables the transfer of information between individuals, is a key adaptive function. Many ungulate species live in large gregarious groups, where there is potential to obtain vital information from conspecifics. However, there is a lack of data concerning the cognitive processes involved in social learning in the ungulates. This study focuses on a domestic species, the goat, Capra hircus, and tests whether they are capable of using social information to solve a foraging problem and if successive transmissions can corrupt information. We used a diffusion-chain paradigm, in which an individual can learn by observing a single trained model and subsequently become a model for the following individual in the chain. We used a puzzle box that could be opened using two different techniques. A majority of goats were able to use the same technique that they saw performed by a conspecific, with a positive association between opening success and rate of observation of the model. Unsuccessful goats also made more attempts to open the box with the technique previously used by the model. This is the first evidence of horizontal diffusion for a new foraging technique in goats. As dispersed foragers, goats may be efficient at monitoring the foraging activities of their conspecifics.