Combining molecular gut content analysis and functional
... The simplicity of functional responses, however, may come at the cost of accuracy. Functional ...
... The simplicity of functional responses, however, may come at the cost of accuracy. Functional ...
Examples of Allometry Metabolic Rate
... • Example: mother bird feeding her chicks – Currency: max rate of food return to nest – Decision: How long to stay in a patch – Constraints: Rate of forage in a patch diminishes with ...
... • Example: mother bird feeding her chicks – Currency: max rate of food return to nest – Decision: How long to stay in a patch – Constraints: Rate of forage in a patch diminishes with ...
Phylum Cnidaria
... Hydra live in FRESHWATER. They are the only Cnidarians not to live in salt water. ...
... Hydra live in FRESHWATER. They are the only Cnidarians not to live in salt water. ...
Relationships in the Ecosystem
... for food. Prey = animal that is eaten by another. Predator / Prey populations will change in response to each other’s population. ...
... for food. Prey = animal that is eaten by another. Predator / Prey populations will change in response to each other’s population. ...
Optimal foraging theory
Optimal foraging theory (OFT) is a model that helps predict how an animal behaves when it's searching for food. Although obtaining food provides the animal with energy, searching for and capturing the food require both energy and time. The animal wants to gain the most benefit (energy) for the lowest cost during foraging, so that it can maximize its fitness. OFT helps predict the best strategy that an animal can use to achieve this goal.OFT is an ecological application of the optimality model. This theory assumes that the most economically advantageous foraging pattern will be selected for in a species through natural selection. When using OFT to model foraging behavior, organisms are said to be maximizing a variable known as the currency, such as the most food per unit time. In addition, the constraints of the environment are other variables that must be considered. Constraints are defined as factors that can limit the forager's ability to maximize the currency. The optimal decision rule, or the organism’s best foraging strategy, is defined as the decision that maximizes the currency under the constraints of the environment. Identifying the optimal decision rule is the primary goal of the OFT.