ABS 2024
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Evaluating movement and caching behaviours in food-storing corvids �
Bryan Hughes1, Kyle Elliott1, Debbie Kelly2, Melanie Guigueno1. 1McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 2University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Some species mitigate the impact of food scarcity and benefit from ephemeral food stores by caching, a behaviour by which an individual stores food for later retrieval. However, it is unclear how behaviours differ across species that rely less frequently on caching for survival. Indeed, interspecific differences exist in caching intensity (number of caches created and distance between caches) and retrieval (success rate and use of cognitive, visual, or olfactory cues). One species, the Clark’s nutcracker�(Nucifraga Columbiana), caches tens of thousands of seeds within 3000-5000 cache sites per spring. Meanwhile, the Steller’s jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)�and black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) cache less frequently. We will use novel, remote GPS tracking to evaluate fine-scale movement (≈5 m accuracy) and behaviour relating to cache number, distance between caches and retrieval rate among different food-storing corvids. As such, this integrative project combining movement, behavioural and cognitive ecology will take a holistic approach to evaluate a continuum of caching behaviour, from magpies (low) to jays (intermediate) to nutcrackers (high).