Foraging

Bernard D Roitberg, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
Gabi Roitberg, Seycove School, North Vancouver, Canada

Published online: September 2008

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003228

This article deals with foraging theory, a subdiscipline of Behavioural Ecology that elucidates why and how animals exploit food. In particular, it seeks to explain the adaptive significance of foraging strategies wherein individuals employ particular suites of tactics that lead to maximizing Darwinian fitness via accessing and assimilating foodstuffs. These rules involve methods that animals use for searching for foodstuffs as well as for discriminating among foodstuffs based upon energetic profitability.

Keywords: foraging; profitability; patch; preference

Figure 1. The MVT solution for the optimal residence time (Topt) for a forager searching for food within a low- (blue) and high- (red) quality patch within the same environment.
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 Further Reading
    Charnov EL (1976) Optimal foraging: the marginal value theorem. Theoretical Population Biology 9: 129–136.
    book Clark CW and Mangel M (2000) Dynamic State Variable Models in Ecology. New York: Oxford University Press.
    book Giraldeau L-A and Caraco T (2000) Social Foraging Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
    book Krebs JR and Davies NB (eds) (1978) Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Press.
    Lima SL and Dill LM (1990) Behavioral decisions made under the risk of predation: a review and prospectus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 619–640.
    Nonacs P (2001) State dependent behavior and the marginal value theorem. Behavioral Ecology 12: 71–83.
    book Stephens DW and Krebs JR (1987) Foraging Theory. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
    Wajnberg E (2006) Time allocation strategies in insect parasitoids: from ultimate predictions to proximate behavioral mechanisms. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60: 589–611.
    book Wajnberg E, Bernstein C and van Alphen J (eds) (2008) Behavioral Ecology of Insect Parasitoids: From Theoretical Approaches to Field Applications. Oxford: Blackwell Press.

Related Sub-Topics:

Adaptive Evolution | Evolution: Theories and Ideas | Evolutionary Ecology | Landscape and Spatial Ecology | Behavioural Ecology
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Article Title: Foraging
 
How to Cite close
Roitberg, Bernard D, and Roitberg, Gabi(Sep 2008) Foraging. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003228]