ABSTRACT
Exploration is the learning behavior by which topographic knowledge is acquired. Topographic knowledge is spatial knowledge about the topography of one’s home range, to be used in topographic or home-range orientation (Jander, 1975). Topographic orientation is well developed in some mollusks, many arthropods and most, if not all, vertebrates. Among arthropods, topographic orientation is best studied in the Aculeate Hymenoptera, the wasps, bees and ants (hundreds of publications, reviewed by Wehner, 1992), and among the vertebrates in the rodent families Muridae and Cricetidae (thousands of publications, reviewed by Poucet, 1993).
