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#foraging ecology

2 public questions tagged with this topic.

PREDATOR

Patch residence time is maximized when:

When travel between patches takes a long time, leaving the current patch imposes a large period with no resource intake. The marginal value theorem therefore predicts that a forager should exploit each reached patch more thoroughly and remain there longer before departing. With short travel, frequent movement is less costly and earlier departure can be optimal. Resource-poor patches generally support shorter visits unless travel costs are extreme, and low energetic rewards do not by themselves maximize residence. The relationship arises because the optimal departure tangent is calculated over

Ref: Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, Begon et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 10

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PREDATOR

An increase in search time S1 will likely make prey2:

As S1 increases, the predator must wait longer to encounter the preferred prey 1. The expected rate from rejecting prey 2 and continuing to search therefore declines, making the immediate lower-profitability item more acceptable. This is the central diet-breadth prediction of optimal foraging theory: scarcity of the highest-ranked prey broadens the optimal diet, whereas abundance permits specialization. The profitability E2/h2 of prey 2 need not change; what changes is its value relative to the opportunity cost of continued searching. An increase in search time consequently shifts the acceptan

Ref: Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, Begon et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 10

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