Biology: Concepts and Investigations
Biology: Concepts and Investigations
5th Edition
ISBN: 9781260259049
Author: Hoefnagels
Publisher: MCG
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Chapter 36.3, Problem 2MC
Summary Introduction

To describe:

In what way the optimal foraging theory explains an animal’s foraging decisions.

Concept introduction:

The optimal foraging theory states that natural selection favors those species whose behavioral strategies maximizes the amount of energy collected per unit time while foraging for food.

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Optimal foraging theory can make predictions about an animal’s food choice. Which of the following is the most accurate statement about optimal diet breadth as resource quality, handling time and distribution changes? As handling time increases, animals should specialize As the distance between resources increases, animals should generalize As the energy content of the resources increases, animals should generalize As the distance between patches increases, animals should stay longer in a patch The following diagrams show four distribution patterns of resources. Each circle represents one unit of a resource, say, a food item. For which of these distributions would the Marginal Value Theorem be useful for making predictions about optimal foraging behavior. (Shown in image)
Optimal foraging theory suggest that a predator selects among possible prey based on their relative profitability (energy gained per unit of energy expended). Do you think that predator directly evaluate the profitability of potential prey items before selecting or rejecting them ? If not, how mighta foraging strategy evolve ?
You are studying the diet of American bison. You gather the data in the graph below on the effort bison invest (gray bars, left hand Y-axis) in obtaining different types of grass (X-axis) and the energy content in calories of the grasses (white bars, right hand Y-axis). According to these data, which type of grass would optimal foraging theory predict bison choose? Handling time (seconds) Grama Broma 30 Fescue 20 10 Bluestem Fescue Switchgrass Bluestem Grama Switchgrass Broma 9 6 3 0 (Calories) Energy content
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