NSF Org:	IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
Initial Amendment Date:	June 2, 2004
Latest Amendment Date:	June 2, 2004
Award Number:	0407933
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Jerry O. Wolff IOS  Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO  Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	June 15, 2004
End Date:	May 31, 2006 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$10,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$10,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2004 = $10,000.00
History of Investigator:	Elizabeth Jakob (Principal Investigator) ejakob@umass.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Massachusetts Amherst 101 COMMONWEALTH AVE AMHERST MA  US  01003-9252 (413)545-0698
Sponsor Congressional District:	02
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Massachusetts Amherst 101 COMMONWEALTH AVE AMHERST MA  US  01003-9252
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	VGJHK59NMPK9
Parent UEI:	VGJHK59NMPK9
NSF Program(s):	PHYSIOLOG & STRUCTURAL SYS
Primary Program Source:	app-0104
Program Reference Code(s):	1160, 9179, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	114100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.074

ABSTRACT

DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Jumping spiders and aposematic prey: testing the ecological consequences of a context shift effect during learned avoidance

PI: Dr. Elizabeth M. Jakob
Co-PI: Christa D. Skow


Many animals, including insects and spiders, can learn to associate environmental details with events that are important to their survival, such as the location or palatability of a food item. Numerous studies have shown that environmental background cues can be stored in memory as part of an event. This can create a problem when an animal tries to recall an important association across a changing environment. If background cues change between the time that an animal learns an association and when its memory of the association is tested, recall of the association can be compromised. Previous work by the authors demonstrated that the jumping spider Phidippus princeps can learn to avoid distasteful aposematic prey, but lose the association when environmental cues shift. They propose to broaden their study by testing the following: whether relearning the same association after a shift is faster than initial learning, whether subtle shifts in vegetation across environments result in impaired memory recollection as do more dramatic shifts, if background environmental cues alone can be used to make beneficial foraging decisions, and whether it is easier to recall an association after an environmental shift when a food item is more unpalatable and forgetting becomes more costly. This work will contribute to the understanding of the ecological consequences of attending to background cues during learning, predator psychology, and adaptive strategies of prey. The principle investigators have a strong track record of mentoring undergraduate researchers, and will involve undergraduates in all aspects of this research.

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