Animals' Representation of Enclosed Spaces: Evidence for Use of a Similar Frame of Reference Following Different Disorientation Procedures in the Domestic Chick (Gallus gallus)

A wide range of vertebrate species has been proved to be capable, following passive disorientation, to reorient into enclosures of different shapes using the metrical distribution of surfaces as surfaces and the geometric sense of left and right. Two procedures can be used to get a subject to loose its orientation: The subject itself can be rotated with the eyes closed or in the dark (viewer-movement procedure) or the external enclosure can be rotated while the subject stays still in a fixed position with the eyes closed or in the dark (i.e., without the possibility to notice any change outside; space-movement procedure). Although the 2 procedures are equivalent in that both cause a change in the spatial relationships between the viewer and the external layout, it has been suggested on the basis of research in human infants that they may involve the use of different frames of reference to reestablish one's bearing and relocate the target. However, no comparison between viewer- and space-movement procedures has been carried out in nonhuman species. Here, the authors show that newborn domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) can reorient effectively irrespective of the specific disorienting procedure applied. The results are discussed in comparative and developmental perspectives.