BIOL 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Prey 2, Global Warming, Reciprocal Altruism

• School: McGill University
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 111
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Ecology: study of interactions between organisms and their environment. Behavioral ecology: study of animal behaviour in relation to the environment. Population ecology: study of demographics (births, deaths) in relation to the environment. Community ecology: study of interactions between species in relation to the environment. There is an overlap between these types of ecology. Standard prediction of foraging theory: animals should eat food that maximize their energy intake. Factors to consider: abundance of different prey types, catchability of different prey types, quality of different prey types. Survival of salmons depends on if they get eaten by bears and on the energy they have stored. Prediction: bears should eat the newest, most energy-rich fish (because they have more energy stored), but only in places where the catching is easy. Conclusion: in a stream where the catching is harder, bears end up catching salmons that are filled with less energy.