foraging Flashcards
foraging
getting food
adaptation
a characteristic that improves an organisms match with its environement
coevolution
when two species are adapting in response to each other over evolutionary time
counter adaptive
an adaptation to another organisms adaptation
life dinner principle
in predator prey interaction, the penalty is greater for the prey, so selection for speed(etc) is stronger
optimal foraging theory
a school of thought dedicated to understanding the foraging decisions of animals
the main assumption of oft is…
that all foraging choices optimize fitness
the currency of oft is…
time and/or energy
what does the red line represent on the graph
when plants are eaten in proportion to their abundance
proximate cause of behavior
the HOW
anatomical, physiological, and/or genetic mechanisms that enable a particular behavior to occur
ultimate cause of behavior
the WHY
the reasons a particular behavior and its underlying mechanisms were favored by natural selection; reasons that acknowledge ancestry
how do we quantify foraging preferences
if its in the diet
frequency of eating
how do time and energy spent foraging relate to fitness
the species has an energy budget
secondary metabolites
meant to make it taste bad as a defense mechanism
optimal prey choice model does what
predicts which prey is preferred on costs and benefits to the predator
