Methyl anthranilate as an aversive stimulus in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) for use in comparative cognitive and behavioural studies

Abstract Reptiles are a vastly understudied taxon, leaving large gaps in comparative cognition and behaviour. They are more similar, cognitively, to mammals and birds than previously thought, but are difficult to test in cognitive tasks. The difficulty comes in effectively motivating reptiles to perform behaviours that allow for cognitive and behavioural comparison to mammals and birds. Painted turtles are a good model for comparison due to their relatively common use in scientific studies, compared to other reptiles, allowing them to be widely compared with mammals and birds. Methyl anthranilate (MA) is a potential short-term aversive stimulus in reptiles, similar to capsaicin in mammals, that could aid in motivating reptiles to perform cognitive tasks for comparison with mammals and birds. In this study, we tested MA on painted turtles to determine if it is an effective short-term aversive stimulus for use in behavioural and cognitive studies. We found that MA produces a short-term aversive reaction in painted turtles, exemplified by a decline in willingness to consume food treated with MA. Future comparative studies could benefit from using MA as an aversive stimulus in cognitive and behavioural tests on reptiles.