Data for: Uncertainty about old information results in differential predator memory in tadpoles

As information ages, it may become less accurate, resulting in increased uncertainty for decision-makers. For example, chemical alarm cues are a source of public information about a nearby predator attack, and these cues can become spatially inaccurate through time. These cues can also degrade quickly under natural conditions, and cue receivers are sensitive to such degradation. Although numerous studies have documented predator-recognition learning from fresh alarm cues, no studies have explored learning from aged alarm cues and whether the uncertainty associated with this older information contributes to shortening the retention of learned responses (i.e., the 'memory window'). Here, we found that wood frog tadpoles, Lithobates sylvaticus, learned to recognize a novel odour as a predator when paired with alarm cues aged under natural conditions for up to one hour. However, only tadpoles conditioned with fresh alarm cues were found to retain this learned response when tested 9 days after conditioning. These results support the hypothesis that the memory window is shortened by the uncertainty associated with older information, preventing the long-term costs of a learned association that was based on potentially outdated information.随着信息随时间老化，其准确性可能逐渐下降，进而增加决策者面临的不确定性。例如，化学警戒线索（chemical alarm cues）是传递附近捕食者袭击事件的公共信息来源，这类线索会随时间推移在空间维度上出现信息失准的情况。此外，这类线索在自然环境中会快速衰减，而线索接收者对这类衰减现象十分敏感。尽管已有大量研究记录了基于新鲜警戒线索的捕食者识别学习（predator-recognition learning）行为，但目前尚无研究探讨基于老化警戒线索的学习情况，也未探究这类陈旧信息伴随的不确定性是否会缩短习得反应的保留时长——即所谓的“记忆窗口（memory window）”。本研究发现，林蛙蝌蚪（Lithobates sylvaticus）在与经自然条件老化至多1小时的警戒线索配对时，能够学会将一种新型气味识别为捕食者信号。然而，仅在条件化训练中使用新鲜警戒线索的蝌蚪，才会在训练结束9天后的测试中保留该习得反应。上述研究结果支持了“记忆窗口会因陈旧信息伴随的不确定性而缩短”这一假说，该假说可避免基于潜在过时信息的习得联结带来的长期代价。