Attempts to reintroduce threatened species from ex situ populations (zoos or predator-free sanctuaries) regularly fail because of predation. When removed from their natural predators, animals may lose their ability to recognize predators and thus fail to adopt appropriate antipredator behaviors. Recently, northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus; Dasyuromorpha: Dasyuridae) conserved on a predator-free “island ark” for 13 generations were found to have no recognition of dingoes, a natural predator with which they had coevolved on mainland Australia for about 8,000 years. A subsequent reintroduction attempt using quolls acquired from this island ark failed due to predation by dingoes. In this study, we tested whether instrumental conditioning could be used to improve predator recognition in captive quolls sourced from a predator-free “island ark.” We used a previously successful scent-recognition assay (a giving-up density experiment) to compare predator-scent recognition of captive-born island animals before and after antipredator training. Our training was delivered by pairing live predators (dingo and domestic dog) with an electrified cage floor in repeat trials such that, when the predators were present, foraging animals would receive a shock. Our training methodology did not result in any discernible change in the ability of quolls to recognize and avoid dingo scent after training. We conclude either that our particular training method was ineffective (though ethically permissible); or that because these quolls appear unable to recognize natural predators, predator recognition may be extremely difficult to impart in a captive setting given ethical constraints. Our results point to the difficulty of reinstating lost behaviors, and to the value of maintaining antipredator behaviors in conservation populations before they are lost.

中文翻译：

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训练未能引起有袋动物的行为改变，该动物遭受了反捕食者行为的进化损失

由于捕食，从异地种群（动物园或无捕食者保护区）重新引入受威胁物种的尝试经常失败。当远离它们的天敌时，动物可能会失去识别捕食者的能力，从而无法采取适当的反捕食者行为。最近，发现在没有捕食者的“岛方舟”上保存了 13 代的北袋鼬（Dasyurus hallucatus；Dasyuromorpha：Dasyuridae）无法识别野狗，这是一种它们在澳大利亚大陆共同进化了大约 8000 年的天敌。由于野狗的捕食，随后使用从该岛方舟中获得的袋鼬重新引入的尝试失败了。在这项研究中，我们测试了仪器调节是否可用于提高来自无捕食者“岛方舟”的圈养袋鼬的捕食者识别能力。”我们使用了以前成功的气味识别试验（放弃密度实验）来比较抗捕食者训练前后圈养出生的岛屿动物的捕食者气味识别。我们的训练是通过在重复试验中将活的捕食者（野狗和家犬）与带电的笼子地板配对来进行的，这样，当捕食者在场时，觅食的动物会受到电击。我们的训练方法没有导致袋鼬在训练后识别和避免野狗气味的能力发生任何明显变化。我们得出的结论是，我们的特定培训方法无效（尽管在道德上是允许的）；或者因为这些袋鼬似乎无法识别天敌，鉴于道德约束，在圈养环境中识别捕食者可能极其困难。