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Optimal Foraging Ecology and Diet Choice -- The need to acquire energy to maintain homeostasis is a universal property of life -- Natural selection We expect to see adaptive behaviors that permit individuals to efficiently and effectively acquire and utilize energy
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Foraging under predation risk – there is a fundamental tradeoff between acquiring energy and avoiding predation
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Red Knot Calidris canutus Tidal mudflat foragers
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Ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres Inshore foragers
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Differences in predator escape? Knots – advanced warning and collective flight maneuvers Turnstones – little warning, find cover, every turnstone for itself
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At the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research the animal caretaker kept track of knots’ abilities to make 90 degree turns into the aviary….. > 160 g, knots compromise their flight abilities
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Flight performance increases with an increase in the ratio of: Pectoral Muscle Mass/Body Mass So how do you increase flight performance?
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Body Building to defy death
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Red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas http://sites.bu.edu/warkentinlab/video-library/
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Rain and snake have different vibrational signatures
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Signal Detection Theory (see Box 42, p111 in your textbook)
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Patchiness & The Ecology of FEAR
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Quitting Harvest Rates & Giving-up Densities (GUDs)
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0 10 20 30 Food left behind 15 10 20 10 30 10 No significant differences Prediction #1 – Differences in initial patch quality will not influence the giving-up rule, i.e., at a constant quitting harvest rate It is a “No Regrets Strategy”
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0 1 2 3 Food left behind under bush in the open vipers owls lights vipers & lights 0 100 200 Quitting harvest rate 300 400 500 Aug July openbush Dec - Apr rattlesnakes hibernating Prediction #2 – Increases in individual foraging costs will result in higher quitting harvest rate
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Prediction #3 – As the value of energy decreases organisms should be less willing to exposed themselves to risk Exchange rate of survivorship and energy Exchange rate of time and energy QHR = P + MOC + C ____ F e Harvest rate Predation cost Missed opportunity cost Metabolic cost P F e P F e Hazardous Duty Pay
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0 2 4 6 Food left behind safe risky 10 Forest edge 10 10m 50madd 50g of sunflowers seeds
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Perceived risk of predation Survivor’s Fitness The value of energy/food i.e., marginal fitness gain from foraging The Fear Equation (Joel Brown)
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SignalerReceiver (‘intended’) (sender) (recipient) INFO Recipient - Eavesdropper Alarm calls and Eavesdropping Bushbuck Grey duiker
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QHR = P + MOC + C ____ F e Harvest rate Predation cost Missed opportunity cost Metabolic cost P F e P F e Hazardous Duty Pay
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Islands of Fertility
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500 435 371 300 Bushbuck bark Silent Rank Giving-up density
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Proportion of time vigilant Mean duration of scan (sec)
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COGNITION How should squirrels change their behavior in the perceived presence of a cache robber? - False-caches - Cache less often - Cache in remote/hidden locations - Frequent recaching **Reduce the Future Value of food Squirrels devalue cacheable food in the perceived presence of jays (i.e., reduce the future value of cacheable food)
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Cacheable Nuts Future Value (cached 54 of 55)* Non-cacheable Nuts No Future Value (ate 52 of 55)* * Kotler et al. 1999 Food spoils and ripens….hence, a food that stores well has higher future value
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Detecting changes in Future Value QHR = P + MOC + C __ F e ____ F e FeFe will result in QHR or GUD Compare GUDs on cacheable food With and Without the perceived presence of jays while holding GUD on non-cacheable food fixed (i.e., compared to a fixed currency) P = predation cost MOC = missed opportunity cost C = metabolic cost QHR = quitting harvest rate F/ e = marginal value of energy
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~75m ~100m station of two trays Speaker (jay or winter birds) ~25m Cachable food = hazelnuts in the shell Non-cachable food = hazelnuts with shell removed
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~75m ~100m ~25m Jay NearJay FarCONTROL
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GUD (# cachable nuts remaining) 3 5 7 9 Control Blue jay AwayNear Squirrels devalue cacheable food in the perceived presence of jays Results
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