Animals have evolved different cognitive processes to localize crucial resources that are difficult to find. Relevant cognitive processes such as associative learning and spatial memory have commonly been studied in a foraging related context under controlled laboratory conditions. However, in natural environments, animals can use multiple cognitive processes to localize resources. In this field study, we used a pairwise choice experiment and automatic roost monitoring to assess how individually marked, free-ranging Bechstein's bats belonging to two different colonies use associative learning, spatial memory and social information when localizing suitable day roosts. To our knowledge, this study tests for the first time how associative learning, spatial memory and social information are used in the process of roost localization in bats under the natural conditions. We show that, when searching for new roosts, bats used associative learning to discriminate between suitable and unsuitable roosts. For re-localizing previously occupied roosts, bats used spatial memory rather than associative learning. Moreover, bats significantly improved the localization of suitable unfamiliar roosts and tended to increase their accuracy to re-localize previously occupied day roosts using social information. Our field experiments suggest that Bechstein's bats make hierarchical use of different cognitive processes when localizing day roosts. More generally, our study underlines that evaluating different cues under natural conditions is fundamental to understanding how natural selection has shaped the cognitive processes used for localizing resources.

中文翻译：

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自由放养的蝙蝠结合了三种不同的认知过程来进行栖息地定位。

动物已经进化出不同的认知过程来定位难以找到的关键资源。相关的认知过程，如联想学习和空间记忆，通常在受控实验室条件下在觅食相关背景下进行研究。但是，在自然环境中，动物可以使用多个认知过程来定位资源。在此田野研究中，我们使用了成对选择实验和自动栖息地监视来评估属于两个不同殖民地的自由放养的Bechstein蝙蝠在定位合适的白天栖息地时如何使用联想学习，空间记忆和社交信息。据我们所知，本研究首次测试了联想学习如何进行，在自然条件下，蝙蝠栖息地定位过程中会使用空间记忆和社会信息。我们显示，当寻找新的栖息地时，蝙蝠使用联想学习来区分合适的和不合适的栖息地。为了重新定位先前占用的栖息地，蝙蝠使用空间记忆而不是联想学习。此外，蝙蝠极大地改善了合适的不熟悉的栖息地的定位，并倾向于使用社交信息来提高其准确度，以重新定位先前占用的日间栖息地。我们的野外实验表明，在定位白昼栖息地时，Bechstein的蝙蝠会分层使用不同的认知过程。更普遍，