Resource Ecology

Resource Ecology
Author: Herbert H.T. Prins
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2008-01-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781402068492

This multi-author book deals with ‘resource ecology’, which is the ecology of trophic interactions between consumers and their resources. All the chapters were subjected to intense group discussions; comments and critiques were subsequently used for writing new versions, which were peer-reviewed. Each chapter is followed by a comment. This makes the book ideal for teaching and course work, because it highlights the fact that ecology is a living and active research field.

Foraging

Foraging
Author: David W. Stephens
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 626
Release: 2008-09-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226772659

Foraging is fundamental to animal survival and reproduction, yet it is much more than a simple matter of finding food; it is a biological imperative. Animals must find and consume resources to succeed, and they make extraordinary efforts to do so. For instance, pythons rarely eat, but when they do, their meals are large—as much as 60 percent larger than their own bodies. The snake’s digestive system is normally dormant, but during digestion metabolic rates can increase fortyfold. A python digesting quietly on the forest floor has the metabolic rate of thoroughbred in a dead heat. This and related foraging processes have broad applications in ecology, cognitive science, anthropology, and conservation biology—and they can be further extrapolated in economics, neurobiology, and computer science. Foraging is the first comprehensive review of the topic in more than twenty years. A monumental undertaking, this volume brings together twenty-two experts from throughout the field to offer the latest on the mechanics of foraging, modern foraging theory, and foraging ecology. The fourteen essays cover all the relevant issues, including cognition, individual behavior, caching behavior, parental behavior, antipredator behavior, social behavior, population and community ecology, herbivory, and conservation. Considering a wide range of taxa, from birds to mammals to amphibians, Foraging will be the definitive guide to the field.

Foraging Theory

Foraging Theory
Author: David W. Stephens
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2019-12-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691206791

This account of the current state of foraging theory is also a valuable description of the use of optimality theory in behavioral ecology in general. Organizing and introducing the main research themes in economic analyses of animal feeding behavior, the authors analyze the empirical evidence bearing on foraging models and answer criticisms of optimality modeling. They explain the rationale for applying optimality models to the strategies and mechanics of foraging and present the basic "average-rate maximizing" models and their extensions. The work discusses new directions in foraging research: incorporating incomplete information and risk-sensitive behavior in foraging models; analyzing trade-offs, such as nutrient requirements and the threat of being eaten while foraging; formulating dynamic models; and building constrained optimization models that assume that foragers can use only simple "rules of thumb." As an analysis of these and earlier research developments and as a contribution to debates about the role of theory in evolutionary biology. Foraging Theory will appeal to a wide range of readers, from students to research professionals, in behavioral ecology, population and community ecology, animal behavior, and animal psychology, and especially to those planning empirical tests of foraging models.

Social Foraging Theory

Social Foraging Theory
Author: Luc-Alain Giraldeau
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691188343

Although there is extensive literature in the field of behavioral ecology that attempts to explain foraging of individuals, social foraging--the ways in which animals search and compete for food in groups--has been relatively neglected. This book redresses that situation by providing both a synthesis of the existing literature and a new theory of social foraging. Giraldeau and Caraco develop models informed by game theory that offer a new framework for analysis. Social Foraging Theory contains the most comprehensive theoretical approach to its subject, coupled with quantitative methods that will underpin future work in the field. The new models and approaches that are outlined here will encourage new research directions and applications. To date, the analysis of social foraging has lacked unifying themes, clear recognition of the problems inherent in the study of social foraging, and consistent interaction between theory and experiments. This book identifies social foraging as an economic interaction between the actions of individuals and those of other foragers. This interdependence raises complex questions about the size of foraging groups, the diversity of resources used, and the propensity of group members to exploit each other or forage cooperatively. The models developed in the book will allow researchers to test their own approaches and predictions. Many years in development, Social Foraging Theory will interest researchers and graduate students in such areas as behavioral ecology, population ecology, evolutionary biology, and wildlife management.

Foraging in Patches

Foraging in Patches
Author: Julie Ann Hart
Publisher:
Total Pages: 102
Release: 1997
Genre: Animal behavior
ISBN:

An experiment combining a simulated natural foraging environment with controlled exposure to a predator was conducted to explore how the efficiency of animals' foraging behavior may be consistent with an awareness of risk. Domestic pigeons, Columba livia, foraged in an indoor area with food in four patches. After 24 days of being risk free, the foraging area suddenly became risky by the introduction of a tethered domestic cat. The food-seeking behavior of the pigeons after the presence of the predator was compared to their behavior before the occurrence of the predator to evaluate how well the behavior in both phases matched that predicted by Optimal Foraging Theory. Pigeons showed sensitivity to the varying food densities available in the patches as well as the risk shift caused by the introduction of the predator. Sensitivity to risk was evidenced by the increased density of the food left in each patch, the increased time spent in all patches, and the increased frequency with which the birds moved between the patches in the post-predator phase.

Information Foraging Theory

Information Foraging Theory
Author: Peter Pirolli
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2009
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0195387791

Peter Pirolli covers information foraging theory (IFT), a theory in adaptive information interaction. IFT analyses what people do to make sense of the huge amount of information available on the Internet and how they navigate it.

Foraging and Feasting

Foraging and Feasting
Author: Dina Falconi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2013-07-14
Genre: Cooking (Wild foods)
ISBN: 9780989343305

Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook celebrates and reclaims the lost art of turning locally gathered wild plants into nutritious, delicious meals ? a traditional foodway long practiced by our ancestors but neglected in modern times. The book's beautiful, instructive botanical illustrations and enlightening recipes offer an adventurous and satisfying way to eat locally and seasonally. Readers will be able to identify, harvest, prepare, eat, and savor the wild bounty all around them. We share this project with you out of our long commitment to connecting with nature through food and art. The effort weaves together Dina?s 30 years of passionate investigations into wild-plant identification, foraging, and cooking with Wendy?s deft artistic skills honed over 15 years as a botanical illustrator. The result is an abundance of recipes and illustrations that explore creative ways to bring wild edibles into our lives. Part One of Foraging & Feasting serves as a visual guide, tracking 50 plants through their growing cycle. The images illustrate the culinary uses of wild plants at various seasons. Part Two contains easy-to-use references including Plant Chart Centerfolds and Seasonal Flow Charts. Part Three brings you into the kitchen; here you'll find more than 100 master recipes and countless variations formulated to help you easily turn wild plants into delectable salads, soups, beverages, meat dishes, desserts, and a host of other culinary delights. These recipes are not limited to wild ingredients; they can be used with cultivated ingredients as well, purchased or homegrown. Many of the recipes can be made to accommodate various dietary restrictions: gluten-free, casein-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and sugar-free. Among those who will find the book valuable are the health-conscious members of the Weston A Price Foundation, ever in search of nutrient-dense, traditional whole foods. Slow Food enthusiasts will appreciate how focusing on ancient, seas¬¬unusual edibles.