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Published on: January 11, 2015
Feeding under predation hazard: testing models of adaptive behavior with stream fish
Garrick T Skalski1, James F Gilliam
1Department of Zoology, Program in Biomathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617, USA.
The American Naturalist
|August 19, 2008
Summary
Animals balance feeding benefits against mortality risks. This study quantitatively assesses foraging models in minnows, finding mortality is incurred for growth, feeding rates decrease with predators, and a parameter (theta) estimates this trade-off.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Animals often face a trade-off between feeding opportunities and mortality risk.
- While theoretical models exist, empirical quantitative assessments of these foraging models are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively assess four basic optimization models of foraging behavior.
- To analyze the feeding-mortality trade-off in stream minnows (bluehead chubs) foraging under predation risk.
Main Methods:
- Statistical model fitting was used to analyze data from behavioral experiments.
- Data involved minnow foraging behavior in the presence of predators (green sunfish).
Main Results:
- Minnows incur mortality to feed above maintenance requirements.
- Feeding rates were suppressed when predators were present.
- A life-history parameter, theta, was estimated to represent the balance between feeding and mortality.
Conclusions:
- The parameter theta, representing the marginal rate of substitution of mortality rate for growth rate, can estimate the feeding-mortality balance.
- Body size and age likely influence the value of theta.
- Future research should focus on estimating and understanding the parameter theta.
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