% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3553631,
title = {{Risk-sensitive learning is a winning strategy for leading an urban invasion}},
author = {Breen, Alexis J. and Deffner, Dominik},
language = {eng},
issn = {2050-084X},
doi = {10.7554/eLife.89315.3},
publisher = {eLife Sciences Publications},
address = {Cambridge},
year = {2024},
abstract = {{In the unpredictable Anthropocene, a particularly pressing open question is how certain species invade urban environments. Sex-biased dispersal and learning arguably influence movement ecology, but their joint influence remains unexplored empirically, and might vary by space and time. We assayed reinforcement learning in wild-caught, temporarily captive core-, middle-, or edge-range great-tailed grackles{\textemdash}a bird species undergoing urban-tracking rapid range expansion, led by dispersing males. We show, across populations, both sexes initially perform similarly when learning stimulus-reward pairings, but, when reward contingencies reverse, male{\textemdash}versus female{\textemdash}grackles finish {\textquoteleft}relearning{\textquoteright} faster, making fewer choice-option switches. How do male grackles do this? Bayesian cognitive modelling revealed male grackles{\textquoteright} choice behaviour is governed more strongly by the {\textquoteleft}weight{\textquoteright} of relative differences in recent foraging payoffs{\textemdash}i.e., they show more pronounced risk-sensitive learning. Confirming this mechanism, agent-based forward simulations of reinforcement learning{\textemdash}where we simulate {\textquoteleft}birds{\textquoteright} based on empirical estimates of our grackles{\textquoteright} reinforcement learning{\textemdash}replicate our sex-difference behavioural data. Finally, evolutionary modelling revealed natural selection should favour risk-sensitive learning in hypothesised urban-like environments: stable but stochastic settings. Together, these results imply risk-sensitive learning is a winning strategy for urban-invasion leaders, underscoring the potential for life history and cognition to shape invasion success in human-modified environments.}},
journal = {{eLife}},
volume = {12},
eid = {RP89315},
}