Deck 11: Foraging

Question 1

Optimization techniques are used to:

A) represent perfectly the conditions an animal experiences in nature.
B) identify which descendants of a certain individual are optimally suited to reproduce.
C) predict the best possible solution to a problem within a given set of constraints.
D) evaluate the logic underlying the assumptions of mathematical models.
E) determine the best possible experimental design for any given question in animal behavior.

Answer 1

predict the best possible solution to a problem within a given set of constraints.

Question 2

Individuals that adopt "producer" foraging strategies:

A) make their own food and create innovative ways to combine food items.
B) locate and gain access to food items in a patch.
C) parasitize the foraging efforts of other group members.
D) teach juveniles efficient foraging techniques.
E) produce chemicals that inhibit competitors from feeding in the same area.

Answer 2

locate and gain access to food items in a patch.

Question 3

Public information can be beneficial in group-living animals because it allows:

A) individuals to use the behavior of others as a cue to changes in environmental conditions.
B) animals to use the foraging success of others as an estimate of patch quality.
C) individuals to acquire specific novel behaviors that enhance foraging success.
D) group members to fool their peers by increasing environmental uncertainty.
E) a and b

Answer 3

a and b

Question 4

Which two requirements must be met to demonstrate that animals plan for the future?

A) The behavior must be novel and not associated with current motivational state.
B) The behavior must be novel, and it must be associated with current motivational state.
C) The behavior should already exist and reflect current motivational state.
D) The behavior must be novel and adaptive.
E) The behavior should already exist and have a high fitness payoff.

Question 5

The simplest optimal prey choice models assume that:

A) foragers cannot simultaneously handle one prey item and search for another.
B) all prey items are encountered by a forager simultaneously.
C) foragers maximize their rate of energy intake.
D) x units of time are required to accurately identify prey items.
E) a and c

Question 6

Models that examine whether variance in food intake rates affect foraging decisions are called:

A) marginal value models.
B) optimal prey choice models.
C) specific nutrient constraint models.
D) risk-sensitive optimal foraging models.
E) public information models.

Question 7

Which of the following statements does NOT apply to Belovsky's study of specific nutrient constraints in moose?

A) Sodium is scare and required in large amounts by vertebrates.
B) Moose should spend approximately 81 percent of its summer foraging time on aquatic plants.
C) Terrestrial plants provide more energy but less sodium than aquatic plants.
D) Moose can store sodium, which allows them to survive over the winter when aquatic plants are unavailable.
E) A linear programming model was developed to predict moose foraging behavior.

Question 8

The "marginal value" refers to the:

A) average rate of food intake across all available patches.
B) average distance between patches.
C) absolute number of food items, regardless of quality, in a given patch.
D) degree to which food items are clumped versus uniformly distributed in a patch.
E) rate of intake associated with the next prey item in the current patch.

Question 9

The most salient prediction of optimal prey choice models is that the decision to add a less profitable prey item (prey type 2) to one's diet depends on:

A) encounter rate of prey type 1.
B) handling associated with prey type 1.
C) handling associated with prey type 2.
D) encounter rate of prey type 2.
E) search time devoted to two versus one prey item.

Question 10

A "patch" is defined as a clump of resources that:

A) fulfills only an animal's sodium requirement.
B) is constantly and immediately renewed.
C) is inaccessible to foragers.
D) cannot be depleted by foragers.
E) none of the above

Question 11

Discuss the primary differences between social learning and public information models of foraging. In addition, consider the large body of work that has focused on what Ward & Zahavi (1973) dubbed the information center hypothesis in a paper entitled "The Importance of Certain Assemblages of Birds as 'Information Centers' For Food Finding" (Ibis, vol. 115, pp. 517- 534). Which of the two models-public information or social learning-is most applicable to the information center hypothesis? Also, consult Mock and colleagues' (1988) paper, "Falsifiability and the Information Centre Hypothesis" (Ornis Scandinavica, vol. 19, pp. 231-248). What were the major issues raised by Mock and colleagues? Conduct a literature search and determine whether any of these issues have since been resolved experimentally- provide details on your search.

Question 12

As described in the chapter, Healey and Krebs (1992) examined the relationship between hippocampal volume and food-storing behavior in seven species of corvid birds. The authors found a strong positive correlation between hippocampal volume and the extent to which these birds store food (i.e., the hippocampus was larger in species that stored large quantities of food). Do these data provide conclusive evidence that the hippocampus is responsible for aspects of foraging related to spatial memory? If so, support your answer. If not, design an experiment that could shed light on the relationship between the hippocampus and food-storing behavior.

Question 13

Read the paper by Roth & Pravosudov (2009), "Hippocampal Volumes and Neuron Numbers Increase along a Gradient of Environmental Harshness: A Large-Scale Comparison" (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, vol. 276, pp. 401-405). Also, consult Roth and colleagues' contribution to the theme issue cited in the Additional Readings section of this manual. Why might it be important to examine links between food caching, spatial memory, and hippocampal size across an environmental gradient? Why might it also be critical to examine hippocampal characteristics other than its absolute size? Which other characteristics might help us to resolve hippocampal function and its relationship with food caching and spatial memory?

Question 14

Describe how risk-sensitive foraging strategies might be manifest in a population of foragers. Can you think of any variables, aside from hunger, that might influence whether an individual chooses to forage using risk-prone or risk-averse strategies?

Question 15

Based on what you have learned in this chapter, do you think molecular, neurobiological, and physiological techniques will significantly advance our understanding of foraging behavior in years to come? Discuss several aspects of foraging behavior that might be amenable to research that employs such techniques, and discuss at least three molecular, neurobiological, or physiological targets that you think might relate in significant ways to foraging behavior.

Question 16

Imagine that you are studying two populations of tropical lizards that inhabit areas where high-quality food items are distributed patchily (i.e., it would take some time to travel from patch to patch). Lizard population A inhabits an area with high predation risk while lizard population B inhabits an area with low predation risk (e.g., birds of prey). How might you expect foraging patterns to differ between these two lizard populations with respect to the time spent in a given patch? Construct your argument by modifying what you have learned about the marginal value theorem.

Question 17

Read Shettleworth's (2012) paper, "Do Animals Have Insight, and What Is Insight Anyway?" (Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, vol. 66, pp. 217-226). First, define insight. Based on what you've read, do you think animals have insight? How might insight relate to foraging performance in animals?