lecture 6

Question 1

what is behavioural ecology?

Answer 1

focuses on individual behaviours and how they influence fitness and the interactions with the environment

Question 2

what are 2 aspects of behaviour?

Answer 2

1. foraging behaviour
2. sexual selection

Question 3

what does optimal foraging theory assume?

Answer 3

natural selection is likely to favour individuals within a population that are more effective at acquiring limited resources

Question 4

what is optimal forging theory based on?

Answer 4

natural selection will influence how organisms feed and behave while foraging

Question 5

what is the optimal forgaing model?

Answer 5

a model describing how an organism feeds as an optimmizing process, which maximizes the net energy gained per unit feeding time

Question 6

what are the two models in the forgaing behaviour?

Answer 6

1. charnovs marginal value theorem (patch model)
2. optimal diet composition model

Question 7

what is the patch model?

Answer 7

poses the question: how long should an organism stay feeding in a given patch?

Question 8

what are the predicitons from the model?

Answer 8

1. foragers should abandon a patch when the rate of energy gain is at a maximum
2. forgagers should stay in a rich patch longer than in a poor patch
3. for patches of a some quality, time spent forgaing should increase with time spent travelling to a patch

Question 9

what foods should be included in the optimal diet model?

Answer 9

• abundance (quantity of different food types vary in time and space)
• handling time (how long it takes to handle and consume an item)
• maximum rate of energy intake (how can an organism choose which food to eat to maximize the rate of energy intake)

Question 10

why do we ask specialist or generalist?

Answer 10

whether an individual should include the less profitable item in its diet depends on the search time of the most profitable prey item

Question 11

what is specialist?

Answer 11

if the most profitable item is common then it is more likely to just eat the most profitable item

Question 12

what is generalist?

Answer 12

if the most profitable item is rare, then it is more likely to eat other items

Question 13

what factors does food choice depend on?

Answer 13

1. net energy gain by eating a food
2. how long it takes to handle a food
3. how long individuals search for food
4. relative abundance of each food types