Learning ability in bank voles selected for high aerobic metabolism, predatory behaviour and herbivorous capability

• Evolution of learning abilities and adaptive strategies were studied.
• Bank voles from divergently selected lines were tested in the Morris water maze.
• Most of the voles successfully learned the position of a hidden underwater platform.
• Results do not support a strong connection between adaptive strategies and learning.

Although great progress has been made in understanding neurological mechanisms of cognitive processes, the questions concerning interrelation between evolution of cognitive abilities and evolution of diverse life histories and adaptive strategies remains largely open. We approached the problem using a unique experimental evolution model system: lines of bank voles selected for high swim-induced aerobic metabolism, intensity of predatory behaviour towards crickets, and ability to grow on a low-quality herbivorous diet. To test a hypothesis that selection for these traits resulted in correlated changes in spatial learning and memory, voles from generation 13 of the selected and unselected control lines were examined in Morris water maze. Most of the individuals successfully learned the position of the platform hidden under water surface, but the spatial learning scores did not differ significantly between selection directions. The results are not consistent with either the hypothesis of a functional trade-off between high cognitive abilities and capability to cope with adverse nutritional conditions, or the hypothesis of a positive link between evolution of cognitive abilities and high aerobic exercise performance.