lecture 5 - competition and predation Flashcards
definition of scramble competition
a situation in which a resource is available to all competitors
definition of contest competition
competition for a resource that is partitioned unequally, so that some competitors obtain all that they need and others obtain less than they need
definition of diet width
the range of food types consumed by a predator
when should an animal add a new item to its diet
when the profit of that new prey is larger than the cost of ignoring new prey and searching for another of the most profitable
definition of random foraging
animals eat items in proportion to what is available
definition of non - random foraging
animals eat the most profitable items even though they are not the most common
what are the constraints of maximising profitability in foraging
search time and handling time
what is a functional response?
the intake rate of a consumer as a function of food density
what is the type 1 functional response?
it assumes a linear rate of increase - assumes that consuming food does not interfere with searching for food
what is the type 2 functional response?
most common - decelerating intake rate - consumer is limited by its capacity to process food
