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  • Rationality in decision-mak...
    Hemingway, Claire T.; Ryan, Michael J.; Page, Rachel A.

    Behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 06/2017, Letnik: 71, Številka: 6
    Journal Article

    Most models of animal behavior assume rationality in animal's decisions, with animals maintaining strict preferences for different options (e.g., optimal foraging theory). In the wild, however, animals often choose among several options simultaneously, and their evaluation of each prey type may depend on the perceived relative values of other choices. Fringe-lipped bats (Trachops cirrhosus) are promising subjects for studying how animals make decisions. When given a choice between the calls of two species of frogs, T. cirrhosus will choose the more salient call that is associated with the higher capture rate. Although in the wild T. cirrhosus often choose among multiple call options, most tests of prey preferences in this system include only two options. In this experiment, we tested whether T. cirrhosus alters relative preference for two call types that differ along two acoustic dimensions (amplitude and complexity) when presented with a third, "decoy" option, inferior to the two original options along either one or both dimensions. Results from this study demonstrate that under these circumstances, T. cirrhosus evaluates all three options independently of one another, and thus, preferences remain consistent and rational in both the presence and absence of a decoy. These results counter many other experiments suggesting irrationality in animal decision-making.