- Email: [email protected]
The development of food preferences
108
surro~lry with regard to the major theme "EnvironmentalAdaptation and Evolution". Perhaps the editors never intended to give such an overview, and perhaps it would not even be possible in a symposium volume. As a result, the book requires that the reader have followed carefully the previous discussion of evolutionary questions. But whether such a reader will find new answers or arguments here is questionable.A quotation from D. Mossakowski's essay (Pigmentationas a haracter for the Reconstructionof Evolution in Cave Beetles) can serve as a quintessential commentary on the book as a whole: "Some parts of the actual debates on systematics and evolution seem to be overemphasized.The question whether the neutralists or the selectionistsare right might be an example...My impression is that there is a great deal of mutual misunderstandingresulting partly from a different usage of terms like gene and selection by molecular and non-molecular biologists. A new evolutionary synthesis is not necessary."
_-___._----____-
Dr. W. Walkowiak Zoologisches Institut der UniversiGt Poppelsdorfer Schloss D-5303 Bonn 1 Federal Republic of Germany -
i%o development of f~t;itrcfil~enccs. Wanda Wyrwicka. Charles C Thomas Publisher, Springfield, Illinois, 1981.ISBN: QPl41.W97. Price $ 12.75.
Wanda Wyrwicka, working at the Brain Research Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles, focused our attention on rather neglected issues of feeding, such as the factors responsible for the individual selection or rejection of a particular food and the social influences on the development and the persistence of feed preferences. It has been generally assumed that fcod consumed by animals corresponds to naturally inborn preferences. The idea that the preference for this or that food may not be so much inborn as acquired inspired the lines of this unique book. The first and second chapters review the early stages of independent feeding, and the parental and social influences on the development of food preferences. In rat pups and newly hatched chicks, these early food preferences seem to depend rroreon 1) the texture and the taste of the food than on its nutritive value, 2) the kind of food preferred by the mother or other adults of the colony. The next two chapters decribe the experimental results on the effect of the selection by the m&her of unusual food on the consumption of that food by her kittens. The experimental procedure to induce cats to feed banana, a naturally rejected food, uses the association of electrical rewarding brain stimulations when sniffing and then eating banana slices. Most kittens having eaten bananas with the mother during their weaning period accepted this unusual food when they were older (5-6 months of age), while the kittens at the same age having never eaten bananas before refused to eat bananas. Two mechanisms are then discussed. The first one: weanling kittens initiate innately the mother in eating new food as a result of facilitationof inborn reactions; and the second one: classical and then instrumental conditioninq occur. When the unusual food was repeatedly offered, associations were formed between visual, olfactory, tactile and taste stimuli of the food (classicalconditioning), then, if the sensory consequences of eating the new food were satisfactory,active seeking for that food occurred(instrumentalconditioning). The influence of early experience with food on later food preferences seems
109
thus to depend on 1) the age at which the experience occurred (innate imitation process) 2) the interval between the early experience and the later test (sensory classical conditioning) 3) the palatability of the food consumed early in life (instrumantalconditioning). In the final chapter of the book, the positive and negative effects of the parental influence on the choice of food by their offsprings are considered. In conclusion of the book, it seems well established that the preference for adequate food in humans may be maintained into adulthood only on condition that the sensory satisfaction obtained from this food equals or exceeds that obtained from other foods. The information provided in this liminar book will be of interest not only to nutritionists,psychobiologists,neuroscientists,pediatricians, but it will also be valuable for food mufacturers in searching the factors responsible for the individual selection or rejection of particular foods. Philippe DE WIITE Laboratoire de Psychobiolqie Biolcgie du Comportement Universite Catholique de Louvain 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)
Studies in adaptation. The behavior of higher Crustucea. Steve Reback and David W. Dunham (Editors).John Wiley & Sons, New York, Chichester, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore, 1983. 282 pp.,37 figs. ISBN O-471-89823-6. Price: f 37.75 US $ 53.20.
Although the Crustacea have evolved a high level of behavioral diversity, only scattered information is found in the literature on crustacean ethology. This book covers different aspects of ethological adaptations to the environment of Decapoaa and Stomatopcda. Each of the nine chapters gives a self-contained synopsis on a spatial topic. A surranarizing overview by D.W. Dunham introduces the reader in the varied subjects and outlines the present status of research. The following chapters deal w:+h different aspects of adaptation to the environment. E.P. Scully describes the behavioral ecology of hermit crabs, concentrating on shell utilization and shell selection; the functional specializationof crustacean appendages is discussed by E.S. Reese, including a short surnnaryon the origin of the appendages. Crustaceans are excellent examples for investigatingquestions concerning the evolution and function of aggressive behavior. Many species show conspicuous agonistic displays, and are easily observed in the filed and maintained in the laboratory. The extensive literature describing the aggressive behavior is reviewed by H. Dingle, who discusses aggression in Crustacea from an evolutionary point of view, and by G.W. Hyatt, who deals with the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of aggression. The next two authors investigate the reproductive behavior in decapods.WhereasM. Salmon focuses on courtship and sexual selection, listing the courtship patterns in the major systematic groups and analyzing the selection mechanisms, B.A. Hazlett describes parental behavior, including egg attachment, hatching rhythms, and parental care. Many crustaceans live in intertidal regions and are subject not only to light-dark changes, but also to tidal changes. Most of the intertidal species are influenced by both Zeitgebem and exhibit both circadian rhythms. H.M.Webb compares the persistent rhythms of the intertidal fiddler crab and shore crab with the rhythms of the crayfish, that lives in fresh water. The last chapter by S. Rebach is concerned with orientation and migration. The cues utilized in orientation as well as the orientation abilities are discussed. As the authors are active in the field of crustacean research, this book
surro~lry with regard to the major theme "EnvironmentalAdaptation and Evolution". Perhaps the editors never intended to give such an overview, and perhaps it would not even be possible in a symposium volume. As a result, the book requires that the reader have followed carefully the previous discussion of evolutionary questions. But whether such a reader will find new answers or arguments here is questionable.A quotation from D. Mossakowski's essay (Pigmentationas a haracter for the Reconstructionof Evolution in Cave Beetles) can serve as a quintessential commentary on the book as a whole: "Some parts of the actual debates on systematics and evolution seem to be overemphasized.The question whether the neutralists or the selectionistsare right might be an example...My impression is that there is a great deal of mutual misunderstandingresulting partly from a different usage of terms like gene and selection by molecular and non-molecular biologists. A new evolutionary synthesis is not necessary."
_-___._----____-
Dr. W. Walkowiak Zoologisches Institut der UniversiGt Poppelsdorfer Schloss D-5303 Bonn 1 Federal Republic of Germany -
i%o development of f~t;itrcfil~enccs. Wanda Wyrwicka. Charles C Thomas Publisher, Springfield, Illinois, 1981.ISBN: QPl41.W97. Price $ 12.75.
Wanda Wyrwicka, working at the Brain Research Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles, focused our attention on rather neglected issues of feeding, such as the factors responsible for the individual selection or rejection of a particular food and the social influences on the development and the persistence of feed preferences. It has been generally assumed that fcod consumed by animals corresponds to naturally inborn preferences. The idea that the preference for this or that food may not be so much inborn as acquired inspired the lines of this unique book. The first and second chapters review the early stages of independent feeding, and the parental and social influences on the development of food preferences. In rat pups and newly hatched chicks, these early food preferences seem to depend rroreon 1) the texture and the taste of the food than on its nutritive value, 2) the kind of food preferred by the mother or other adults of the colony. The next two chapters decribe the experimental results on the effect of the selection by the m&her of unusual food on the consumption of that food by her kittens. The experimental procedure to induce cats to feed banana, a naturally rejected food, uses the association of electrical rewarding brain stimulations when sniffing and then eating banana slices. Most kittens having eaten bananas with the mother during their weaning period accepted this unusual food when they were older (5-6 months of age), while the kittens at the same age having never eaten bananas before refused to eat bananas. Two mechanisms are then discussed. The first one: weanling kittens initiate innately the mother in eating new food as a result of facilitationof inborn reactions; and the second one: classical and then instrumental conditioninq occur. When the unusual food was repeatedly offered, associations were formed between visual, olfactory, tactile and taste stimuli of the food (classicalconditioning), then, if the sensory consequences of eating the new food were satisfactory,active seeking for that food occurred(instrumentalconditioning). The influence of early experience with food on later food preferences seems
109
thus to depend on 1) the age at which the experience occurred (innate imitation process) 2) the interval between the early experience and the later test (sensory classical conditioning) 3) the palatability of the food consumed early in life (instrumantalconditioning). In the final chapter of the book, the positive and negative effects of the parental influence on the choice of food by their offsprings are considered. In conclusion of the book, it seems well established that the preference for adequate food in humans may be maintained into adulthood only on condition that the sensory satisfaction obtained from this food equals or exceeds that obtained from other foods. The information provided in this liminar book will be of interest not only to nutritionists,psychobiologists,neuroscientists,pediatricians, but it will also be valuable for food mufacturers in searching the factors responsible for the individual selection or rejection of particular foods. Philippe DE WIITE Laboratoire de Psychobiolqie Biolcgie du Comportement Universite Catholique de Louvain 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)
Studies in adaptation. The behavior of higher Crustucea. Steve Reback and David W. Dunham (Editors).John Wiley & Sons, New York, Chichester, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore, 1983. 282 pp.,37 figs. ISBN O-471-89823-6. Price: f 37.75 US $ 53.20.
Although the Crustacea have evolved a high level of behavioral diversity, only scattered information is found in the literature on crustacean ethology. This book covers different aspects of ethological adaptations to the environment of Decapoaa and Stomatopcda. Each of the nine chapters gives a self-contained synopsis on a spatial topic. A surranarizing overview by D.W. Dunham introduces the reader in the varied subjects and outlines the present status of research. The following chapters deal w:+h different aspects of adaptation to the environment. E.P. Scully describes the behavioral ecology of hermit crabs, concentrating on shell utilization and shell selection; the functional specializationof crustacean appendages is discussed by E.S. Reese, including a short surnnaryon the origin of the appendages. Crustaceans are excellent examples for investigatingquestions concerning the evolution and function of aggressive behavior. Many species show conspicuous agonistic displays, and are easily observed in the filed and maintained in the laboratory. The extensive literature describing the aggressive behavior is reviewed by H. Dingle, who discusses aggression in Crustacea from an evolutionary point of view, and by G.W. Hyatt, who deals with the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of aggression. The next two authors investigate the reproductive behavior in decapods.WhereasM. Salmon focuses on courtship and sexual selection, listing the courtship patterns in the major systematic groups and analyzing the selection mechanisms, B.A. Hazlett describes parental behavior, including egg attachment, hatching rhythms, and parental care. Many crustaceans live in intertidal regions and are subject not only to light-dark changes, but also to tidal changes. Most of the intertidal species are influenced by both Zeitgebem and exhibit both circadian rhythms. H.M.Webb compares the persistent rhythms of the intertidal fiddler crab and shore crab with the rhythms of the crayfish, that lives in fresh water. The last chapter by S. Rebach is concerned with orientation and migration. The cues utilized in orientation as well as the orientation abilities are discussed. As the authors are active in the field of crustacean research, this book