Data for: Uncertainty about old information results in differential predator memory in tadpoles

As information ages, it may become less accurate, resulting in increased uncertainty for decision-makers. For example, chemical alarm cues are a source of public information about a nearby predator attack, and these cues can become spatially inaccurate through time. These cues can also degrade quickly under natural conditions, and cue receivers are sensitive to such degradation. Although numerous studies have documented predator-recognition learning from fresh alarm cues, no studies have explored learning from aged alarm cues and whether the uncertainty associated with this older information contributes to shortening the retention of learned responses (i.e., the 'memory window'). Here, we found that wood frog tadpoles, Lithobates sylvaticus, learned to recognize a novel odour as a predator when paired with alarm cues aged under natural conditions for up to one hour. However, only tadpoles conditioned with fresh alarm cues were found to retain this learned response when tested 9 days after conditioning. These results support the hypothesis that the memory window is shortened by the uncertainty associated with older information, preventing the long-term costs of a learned association that was based on potentially outdated information.