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The time window of feeding.
1Department of Psychology, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick 08903.
Physiology & Behavior
|December 1, 1990
Summary
Animals optimize feeding behavior by evaluating habitat cost-benefit structures, not just immediate needs. This longer-term perspective challenges traditional models of food intake and suggests new avenues for research into feeding mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Animal Physiology
- Bioeconomics
Background:
- Traditional models of food intake focus on depletion/repletion mechanisms.
- These models are insufficient for explaining complex feeding strategies observed in nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To contrast traditional food intake models with a longer-term, function-focused perspective.
- To investigate the economic relationships and cost-benefit analyses of feeding behavior.
Main Methods:
- Review of naturalistic observations of animal feeding.
- Laboratory experiments using operant methodology to manipulate feeding costs (initiation and consumption).
- Cost-benefit analysis of feeding in a closed economy.
Main Results:
- Animals adjust feeding behavior to maximize benefits relative to costs.
- Feeding decisions appear to anticipate nutritional requirements and environmental conditions.
- The time scale for integrating feeding decisions varies (minutes to seasons) based on ecological niche.
Conclusions:
- Momentary deficit/repletion models are inadequate for explaining adaptive feeding strategies.
- Animal feeding behavior is influenced by a dynamic assessment of habitat cost-benefit structures.
- Further research is needed to revise and discover new feeding mechanisms.