The white-rumped munia, Lonchura striata, is a songbird whose domesticated descendant is the Bengalese finch. The two forms are useful for studying how behavior differs between a wild lineage and a lineage maintained under domestication. A domesticated form is not automatically a separate species.[ref]
Effects of domestication on neophobia: A comparison between the domesticated Bengalese finch and its wild ancestor, the white-rumped munia by Kenta Suzuki and others. Title and Introduction: ancestral wild and domesticated forms
A 2021 experiment compared feeding when an unfamiliar object was present. Groups of white-rumped munias were less likely to feed and waited longer than Bengalese finch groups under the novel-object conditions. This was interpreted as a difference in neophobia, avoidance of unfamiliar things. The wild-caught white-rumped munias had already spent more than a year in laboratory housing before testing, so wild origin and immediate testing environment were distinct features of the design.[ref]
Effects of domestication on neophobia: A comparison between the domesticated Bengalese finch and its wild ancestor, the white-rumped munia by Kenta Suzuki and others. Abstract; Birds used in this study; Responses to novel objects
A longer feeding delay does not alone identify a uniquely inherited fear mechanism. Prior experience, housing and the social group used in a test can affect behavior. The comparison supplies a measured behavioral contrast, while the full evolutionary explanation requires evidence beyond the contrast itself.
Articles by others on the same topic
There are currently no matching articles.