PSYC 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Optimal Foraging Theory, Downy Woodpecker, Cladocera
15 Jun 2018
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Decision Making- Selecting ONE course of action over a variety of options
- Chipmunks as Foragers, carrying seeds in cheeks for storage in burrows. These
chipmunks optimize their behaviour (distance travelled, how MUCH food they can keep
in their cheeks etc.)
Optimal Foraging Theory
- Organisms forage in a way that maximizes net energy gain/unit time
- Net Energy Gain
o Amount of energy gained from food is offset by energy used to obtain it
▪ Travelling
▪ Handling
▪ Avoiding Predators
Marginal Value Theorem
- Individuals strategy (to stay or to leave) that maximizes gain when resources decrease
with time
- Downy Woodpecker Study
o Lima (1984): Birds divided time between both sampling and foraging that led to
maximal rate of return from each patch
- In any given log, animals are unaware of the food quantity within the patch
- For a given habitat, woodpecker would divide their sampling versus foraging time
differently (obviously)
- For example, in Habitat 3: in the ‘rich patch’ success is not frequent, so it is likely your
time may be divided evenly between both patches because probability of success is
infrequent
- Maximizing feeding: keeping track of how much is obtained, and making decisions
Group Foraging
- Most theories focus on individual foraging
Ideal Free Distribution Model
