Terrestrial movement energetics: current knowledge and its application to the optimising animal

Area of Science:

• Ecological energetics
• Animal locomotion
• Behavioral ecology

Background:

• Locomotion energy expenditure is a significant part of an animal's daily energy budget.
• Existing research on animal movement costs often focuses on environmental factors like terrain.
• Further studies may yield diminishing returns in understanding trade-offs between movement costs and other ecological factors like time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the 'individual energy landscape' concept for understanding animal movement choices.
• To synthesize existing knowledge on locomotion costs and environmental influences.
• To explore how animals optimize movement within their environment to maximize fitness.

Main Methods:

• Review of previous findings on animal walking and running costs.
• Focus on the net cost of transport as a comparative metric.
• Analysis of environmental perturbations and extrinsic factors affecting movement costs.

Main Results:

• The 'individual energy landscape' integrates geographical, environmental, and behavioral factors.
• This landscape reflects an animal's selected trade-offs for short-term optimality.
• Locomotion costs are influenced by terrain, environmental factors, and species-specific behaviors.

Conclusions:

• The individual energy landscape provides a framework for applying transport cost data to fitness maximization.
• It helps assess the relative importance of locomotion energy economy in animal movement strategies.
• Understanding these trade-offs is crucial for predicting how animals navigate their environments.