In:
Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), PERSEE Program, Vol. 51, No. 1 ( 1996), p. 43-86
Abstract:
Given their major importance in survival and eventually in reproductive success of most animal species, foraging strategies have been undoubtedly submitted to an optimization process by natural selection during the course of evolution. Even when feeding resources themselves do not constitute a limiting factor, an animal should still optimize its foraging behaviour, at least to minimize the time spent in foraging and hence to increase the time available for other activities. We present in this paper a general review of models of optimal foraging strategies. This kind of strategy is defined as the set of decision rules which allows an animal, in a given energetic context, and given the specific and environmental constraints to which it is submitted, either to maximize the net rate of energy intake, or to minimize the probability of death from starvation. The various models which have been developed in this framework constitute the so-called Optimal Foraging Theory. This theory deals mainly with the composition of the diet and with the spatio-temporal distribution of the search effort for feeding resources in a stochastic heterogeneous environment, which can be either discrete (i.e. made of well-defined patches), or continuous (i.e. where the concept of patch can be defined only statistically). The particular case of an animal foraging from a central place where it returns regularly has been considered. The effects involved by inter-individual competition between animals foraging in groups have also been presented. The optimal foraging strategy predicted by a given model constitute a theoretical template to which results obtained on real foraging behaviour can be compared. Although the real conditions are often much more complex than those which have been introduced in the model, there usually exists a rather good fit between the theoretical predictions and the data, because animals use simple but robust decision rules which enable them to adapt well to most of the situations they have to cope with in their natural habitat.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0249-7395
DOI:
10.3406/revec.1996.2192
Language:
French
Publisher:
PERSEE Program
Publication Date:
1996
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2922565-6
SSG:
12
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