Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Foraging

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.

Ecological Disturbance

Ecological Disturbance

An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.

Ecological Succession

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species create more favorable ecological conditions for subsequent species, such as enhanced nutrient, water, or light availability. In contrast, inhibition happens when early successional species create unfavorable ecological conditions for potential successive species, such as limiting resource availability. In some cases, later successional species...

Ecological Niches

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.

The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition

The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition

Plants have the impressive ability to create their own food through photosynthesis. However, plants often require assistance from organisms in the soil to acquire the nutrients they need to function correctly. Both bacteria and fungi have evolved symbiotic relationships with plants that help the species to thrive in a wide variety of environments.

Band Theory

Band Theory

When two or more atoms come together to form a molecule, their atomic orbitals combine and molecular orbitals of distinct energies result. In a solid, there are a large number of atoms, and therefore a large number of atomic orbitals that may be combined into molecular orbitals. These groups of molecular orbitals are so closely placed together to form continuous regions of energies, known as the bands.
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Macronutrient mixtures and interactions in health and disease.

Nature reviews. Endocrinology·2026

Same author

Rethinking fussiness in commercial food contexts.

Health promotion international·2026

Same author

An appetite for protein.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Effect of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation Alone or Combined With Tryptophan or Methionine on Appetite Control and Related Health Outcomes in Older Adults: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

JMIR research protocols·2026

Same author

Protein Decoys, Alcohol, and Energy Intake: Testing a Mechanistic-Ecological Model.

Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity·2026

Same author

Examining widely held propositions on human dietary protein needs and benefits: a critical review of the science that shapes both the data and our understanding of an essential macronutrient.

Critical reviews in food science and nutrition·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Basic Methods for the Study of Reproductive Ecology of Fish in Aquaria

Basic Methods for the Study of Reproductive Ecology of Fish in Aquaria

Published on: July 20, 2017

Nutritional ecology and foraging theory.

David Raubenheimer¹, Stephen J Simpson¹

¹Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Current Opinion in Insect Science

|July 21, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Nutritional geometry integrates optimal foraging theory and nutritional ecology. This framework links foraging, feeding, and nutrition across biological and biomedical sciences.

More Related Videos

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Published on: April 23, 2016

A Single-fly Assay for Foraging Behavior in Drosophila

A Single-fly Assay for Foraging Behavior in Drosophila

Published on: November 4, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Basic Methods for the Study of Reproductive Ecology of Fish in Aquaria

Basic Methods for the Study of Reproductive Ecology of Fish in Aquaria

Published on: July 20, 2017

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Published on: April 23, 2016

A Single-fly Assay for Foraging Behavior in Drosophila

A Single-fly Assay for Foraging Behavior in Drosophila

Published on: November 4, 2013

Area of Science:

Ecology
Animal Behavior
Nutritional Science

Background:

Optimal foraging theory and nutritional ecology are parallel fields influencing broader biology.
These fields offer complementary strengths in understanding animal feeding behaviors.
Integrating these theories can provide a more holistic view of ecological and physiological processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate how nutritional geometry can bridge optimal foraging theory and nutritional ecology.
To provide a framework for synthesizing foraging, feeding, and nutrition-related biological aspects.
To highlight the growing influence of this integrated approach in biological and biomedical sciences.

Main Methods:

Utilizing nutritional geometry, an approach from insect nutrition studies.
Applying this framework to incorporate key aspects of optimal foraging theory into nutritional ecology.
Synthesizing existing knowledge from both fields.

Main Results:

Nutritional geometry provides a unified framework for optimal foraging and nutritional ecology.
This integration allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how animals find and consume food.
The synthesized approach is increasingly impacting diverse biological and biomedical research areas.

Conclusions:

The integration of optimal foraging theory and nutritional ecology via nutritional geometry offers a powerful new perspective.
This approach facilitates the connection of foraging and feeding behaviors with broader biological and biomedical implications.
Nutritional geometry is a key development for advancing the study of nutrition in ecological and evolutionary contexts.