Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges

Abstract The ability of invertebrates to discriminate quantities is poorly studied, and it is unknown whether other phyla possess the same richness and sophistication of quantification mechanisms observed in vertebrates. The dune snail, Theba pisana, occupies a harsh habitat characterised by sparse...

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Autores principales:	Angelo Bisazza, Elia Gatto
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/562becb5b3c947b8b3824ffb94d548f5
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:562becb5b3c947b8b3824ffb94d548f52021-12-02T14:11:29ZContinuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges10.1038/s41598-021-82249-62045-2322https://doaj.org/article/562becb5b3c947b8b3824ffb94d548f52021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82249-6https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The ability of invertebrates to discriminate quantities is poorly studied, and it is unknown whether other phyla possess the same richness and sophistication of quantification mechanisms observed in vertebrates. The dune snail, Theba pisana, occupies a harsh habitat characterised by sparse vegetation and diurnal soil temperatures well above the thermal tolerance of this species. To survive, a snail must locate and climb one of the rare tall herbs each dawn and spend the daytime hours in an elevated refuge position. Based on their ecology, we predicted that dune snails would prefer larger to smaller groups of refuges. We simulated shelter choice under controlled laboratory conditions. Snails’ acuity in discriminating quantity of shelters was comparable to that of mammals and birds, reaching the 4 versus 5 item discrimination, suggesting that natural selection could drive the evolution of advanced cognitive abilities even in small-brained animals if these functions have a high survival value. In a subsequent series of experiments, we investigated whether snails used numerical information or based their decisions upon continuous quantities, such as cumulative surface, density or convex hull, which co-varies with number. Though our results tend to underplay the role of these continuous cues, behavioural data alone are insufficient to determine if dune snails were using numerical information, leaving open the question of whether gastropod molluscans possess elementary abilities for numerical processing.Angelo BisazzaElia GattoNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-17 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Angelo Bisazza Elia Gatto Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
description	Abstract The ability of invertebrates to discriminate quantities is poorly studied, and it is unknown whether other phyla possess the same richness and sophistication of quantification mechanisms observed in vertebrates. The dune snail, Theba pisana, occupies a harsh habitat characterised by sparse vegetation and diurnal soil temperatures well above the thermal tolerance of this species. To survive, a snail must locate and climb one of the rare tall herbs each dawn and spend the daytime hours in an elevated refuge position. Based on their ecology, we predicted that dune snails would prefer larger to smaller groups of refuges. We simulated shelter choice under controlled laboratory conditions. Snails’ acuity in discriminating quantity of shelters was comparable to that of mammals and birds, reaching the 4 versus 5 item discrimination, suggesting that natural selection could drive the evolution of advanced cognitive abilities even in small-brained animals if these functions have a high survival value. In a subsequent series of experiments, we investigated whether snails used numerical information or based their decisions upon continuous quantities, such as cumulative surface, density or convex hull, which co-varies with number. Though our results tend to underplay the role of these continuous cues, behavioural data alone are insufficient to determine if dune snails were using numerical information, leaving open the question of whether gastropod molluscans possess elementary abilities for numerical processing.
format	article
author	Angelo Bisazza Elia Gatto
author_facet	Angelo Bisazza Elia Gatto
author_sort	Angelo Bisazza
title	Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
title_short	Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
title_full	Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
title_fullStr	Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
title_full_unstemmed	Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
title_sort	continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (mollusca: gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/562becb5b3c947b8b3824ffb94d548f5
work_keys_str_mv	AT angelobisazza continuousversusdiscretequantitydiscriminationindunesnailmolluscagastropodaseekingthermalrefuges AT eliagatto continuousversusdiscretequantitydiscriminationindunesnailmolluscagastropodaseekingthermalrefuges
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Continuous versus discrete quantity discrimination in dune snail (Mollusca: Gastropoda) seeking thermal refuges

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