Feeding Behavior | Optimal Foraging Behavior & Ecology Flashcards
The animal should feed &
change their feeding in a
manner that:
1. minimizes the cost
2. maximizes the benefit
Optimal Foraging Theory
Charles J. Krebs
Maximization of net energy intake
Energy content of food
Handling time
Optimal Foraging
Optimal Foraging - Components of handling time (4)
Locate
Pursue
Capture
Process (eat)
Optimal Foraging Can be achieved thru (5):
1.Optimal Diet = Food Type?
2.Optimal Foraging Time = when to eat?
when to stop eating?
- Optimal Patch Choice = Where?
4.Optimal Allocation of Time = How long to spend?
- Optimal Search Paths = directions, patterns, speed?
Feeding guilds (11)
1.piscivores = fishes
2.insectivores = insects
3.myrmecophagous = anteaters
4.vermivores = worms
5.folivores = foliage, young leaves
6.granivores= grains, rice, corn
7.fructivores = fruits, nuts, berries
8.carnivorous = meat eaters
9.omnivores = meat & leaves, fruits
10.blood suckers = vertebrate blood
11.coprophagous = wastes, manure
Waterbirds Bill/Beak Type based on:
Method of eating (2)
Type of Food item
Probing, Pecking
Waterbird habitat types: 6
Freshwater wetlands
Sandy Beaches
Rocky SHores
Intertidal mud/sandflats
Grasslands
Inland Salt Lakes
___ monkeys of Borneo
Proboscis
Proboscis monkey complex stomach vs human simple stomach
- Obtain E from leaves +
- Deactivate poisons +
- Make some vitamins +
- Re-cycle N +
- Digest sweet & e-rich fruits -
- Digest rich easily- accessible protein e.g. insects -
Proboscis monkeys avoid rambutans and figs, as it would give highly uncomfortable condition known as ___
Bloat
Highly digestible foods, the bacteria ferment them so rapidly that gas and acid build up suddenly in the stomach
Rambutans & figs
Types of Optimal Foraging TIme (3)
Diurnal - early am & late pm
Crepuscular - late pm
Nocturnal - 6-9 pm
The study of the biophysical, biochemical, and physiological processes
Used by animals to cope with factors of their physical environment, or employed during ecological interactions with other organisms
A discipline that combines the study of physiological and ecological processes in living organisms.
Physiological Ecology
Physiological ecology focuses on ___ and ___ to ever-changing environments in both laboratory and field.
whole-animal function
adjustments
In order to survive and reproduce successfully in their ever-changing environments organisms make
Short-term behavioral and long-term physiological adjustments
The study of physiological ecology begins with an understanding of the influence of ___
ambient temperatures
Is an important factor in the distribution of organisms because of its effects on biological processes
Environmental temperature
Is the process by which animals maintain an internal temperature within a tolerable range
Thermoregulation
Affects the physiology of organisms as well as the density and state of water
temperature
Mechanisms for regulating the temperature of their bodies (4)
High metabolic rate
Efficient circulatory system
Hibernation
Estivation
Maintain a high internal temperature through metabolic heat generation
Most of the heat comes from metabolism in the gut and brain
Endothermy
Regulation of body temperature depends on external sources, such as sunlight or a heated rock surface
Ectotherms
Animals that hibernate or estivate enter a state known as ___.
A condition in which their metabolic rate is significantly lowered.
Enables animal to wait until its environment better supports survival
Torpor
Some amphibians such as the wood frog have an ___ in their cells which retains the cells’ integrity and prevents them from freezing and bursting
antifreeze-like chemical
___ solves problems related to temperature, location food, and finding a mate
Migration
Contributes to thermoregulation across many animal species.
Includes adjusting the amount of insulation-by growing a thicker coat of fur in the winter and shedding it in the summer.
Acclimization
Acclimization in ___ often includes adjustments at the ___ level.
Ectotherms
Cholesterol reduces ___ at moderate temperatures by reducing ___ movement.
At low temperatures it hinders ___ by disrupting the regular packing of ___.
membrane fluidity, phospholipid
solidification, phospholipid
Is another major focus in physiological ecology, particularly criticial for desert dwelling organisms.
Water availability
Regulates solute concentrations and balances the gain and loss of water.
Is based largely on controlled movement of solutes between internal fluids and the external environment.
Osmoregulation
Ways an animal can maintain water balance (2)
Osmoconformer, isoosmotic with its surroundings, do not regulate their osmolarity (TYPICALLY MARINE INVERTEBRATES)
Osmoregulator, controls its internal osmolarity independent of that of its environment. (TYPICALLY MARINE VERTEBRATES AND SOME INVERTEBRATES)
Types of animals depending on changes in external osmolarity
Stenohaline - cannot tolerate substantial changes
Euryhaline - can survive large fluctuations in external osmolarity
Saltwater fish balance water loss by ___
Freshwater animals maintain water balance by ___
Drinking seawater
Excreting large amounts of dilute urine
Land animals manage their water budgets by ___
drinking and eating moist foods and by using metabolic water
Desert animals get water savings from ___
simple anatomical features
