Information maintenance of food sources is associated with environment, spatial cognition and age in a food-caching bird

Our data supported our predictions that factors affecting the predictability of resource information (environmental conditions and individual characteristics such as cognition and age) affect how individuals engage in information maintenance. The dataset is comprised of several types of data collected from 2015-2020. Behavioral data were collected in Sagehen Experimental Forest using radiofrequency identification (RFID)-equipped 'smart' feeders arranged in spatial arrays to allow for spatial learning and memory testing (Croston et al. 2015).

These feeders allowed for detection of passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tagged chickadees foraging at the feeders. These behavioral data were collected during annual winter data collection periods and were summarized by the Levins' measure (i.e. the inverse of the Simpson's diversity index; Levins 1968). The Levins' measure uses proportion of visits to 8 feeders in a given array to estimate feeder use breadth and provide a metric of information maintenance.

The dataset also includes (1) demographic data (age, sex) from long-term banding efforts in the study system, (2) cognitive data (spatial learning and memory ability, single reversal learning ability), and environmental data (from nearby California SNOTEL stations #539, #540, and #541). Feeder design by Eli S. Bridge & Vladimir V. Pravosudov: Bridge, E.S., & Bonter, D.N. (2011). A low-cost radio frequency identification device for ornithological research.

Journal of Field Ornithology, 82, 52–59. doi.org/10.1111/j.1557-9263.2010.00307.x