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#marginal value theorem

4 public questions tagged with this topic.

Predator Prey Model

According to MVT, a forager should leave a patch when:

The marginal value theorem states that a forager should leave a patch when its instantaneous capture or energy-gain rate has declined to the average rate attainable across the environment, including travel time between patches. Early in a patch visit, profitable items are readily found and marginal return is high. Continued exploitation depletes the patch, so each additional unit of time yields less. Once the marginal return equals the habitat-wide average, staying longer would lower long-term intake; departing for a new patch raises it. Maximum total energy within the current patch is not the

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 14

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Predator Prey Model

Marginal value theorem (MVT) explains:

The marginal value theorem predicts how long a forager should remain in a resource patch when travel between patches consumes time. Within a patch, cumulative gain rises but usually decelerates because preferred items are depleted, prey hide, or interference increases. The instantaneous, or marginal, gain rate therefore falls with residence time. Leaving too early wastes travel investment, whereas staying too long yields returns below those available elsewhere. The optimal departure point occurs where the tangent from the travel-time intercept touches the cumulative gain curve; equivalently, c

Ref: Ecology: Concepts and Applications, Molles, 9th Ed., Ch. 14

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