Foraging

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

The Nature of Fear

The Nature of Fear
Author: Daniel T. Blumstein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674916484
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A leading expert in animal behavior takes us into the wild to better understand and manage our fears. Fear, honed by millions of years of natural selection, kept our ancestors alive. Whether by slithering away, curling up in a ball, or standing still in the presence of a predator, humans and other animals have evolved complex behaviors in order to survive the hazards the world presents. But, despite our evolutionary endurance, we still have much to learn about how to manage our response to danger. For more than thirty years, Daniel Blumstein has been studying animals’ fear responses. His observations lead to a firm conclusion: fear preserves security, but at great cost. A foraging flock of birds expends valuable energy by quickly taking flight when a raptor appears. And though the birds might successfully escape, they leave their food source behind. Giant clams protect their valuable tissue by retracting their mantles and closing their shells when a shadow passes overhead, but then they are unable to photosynthesize, losing the capacity to grow. Among humans, fear is often an understandable and justifiable response to sources of threat, but it can exact a high toll on health and productivity. Delving into the evolutionary origins and ecological contexts of fear across species, The Nature of Fear considers what we can learn from our fellow animals—from successes and failures. By observing how animals leverage alarm to their advantage, we can develop new strategies for facing risks without panic.

The Nature of Fear

The Nature of Fear
Author: Daniel T. Blumstein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674249941
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An Open Letters Review Best Book of the Year A leading expert in animal behavior takes us into the wild to better understand and manage our fears. Fear, honed by millions of years of natural selection, kept our ancestors alive. Whether by slithering away, curling up in a ball, or standing still in the presence of a predator, humans and other animals have evolved complex behaviors in order to survive the hazards the world presents. But, despite our evolutionary endurance, we still have much to learn about how to manage our response to danger. For more than thirty years, Daniel Blumstein has been studying animals’ fear responses. His observations lead to a firm conclusion: fear preserves security, but at great cost. A foraging flock of birds expends valuable energy by quickly taking flight when a raptor appears. And though the birds might successfully escape, they leave their food source behind. Giant clams protect their valuable tissue by retracting their mantles and closing their shells when a shadow passes overhead, but then they are unable to photosynthesize, losing the capacity to grow. Among humans, fear is often an understandable and justifiable response to sources of threat, but it can exact a high toll on health and productivity. Delving into the evolutionary origins and ecological contexts of fear across species, The Nature of Fear considers what we can learn from our fellow animals—from successes and failures. By observing how animals leverage alarm to their advantage, we can develop new strategies for facing risks without panic.

Foraging Behavior

Foraging Behavior
Author: A. C. Kamil
Publisher:
Total Pages: 688
Release: 1987-05-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781461318408
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Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals

Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals
Author: Timothy M. Caro
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 609
Release: 2005-09
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0226094367
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Tim Caro explores the many & varied ways in which prey species have evolved defensive characteristics and behaviour to confuse, outperform or outwit their predators, from the camoflaged coat of the giraffe to the extraordinary way in which South American sealions ward off the attacks of killer whales.

Foraging Behavior

Foraging Behavior
Author: A.C. Kamil
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 700
Release: 1987-05
Genre: Science
ISBN:
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Foraging behavior has always been a central concern of ecology. Understanding what animals eat is clearly an essential component of under standing many ecological issues including energy flow, competition and adaptation. Theoretical and empirical developments in the late 1960's and 1970's led to a new emphasis in the study of foraging behavior, the study of individual animals in both field and laboratory. This development, in turn, led to an explosion of interest in foraging. Part of the reason for this explosion is that when foraging is studied at the individual level, it is relevant to many disciplines. Behaviorists, including ethologists and psychologists, are interested in any attempt to understand behavior. Ecologists know that a better understanding of foraging will contribute to resolving a number of important ecological issues. Anthropologists and others are applying the ideas coming out of the study of foraging behavior to problems within their disciplines. These developments led to a multidisciplinary symposium on foraging behavior, held as part of the 1978 Animal Behavior Society meetings in Seattle, Washington. Many ecologists, ethologists and psychologists participated or attended. The symposium was very successful. generating a high level of excitement. As a result, the participants decided to publish the proceedings of the symposium (Kami1 & Sargent 1981).

Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer

Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer
Author: David G. Hewitt
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 668
Release: 2011-06-24
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1482295989
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Winner of the Wildlife Society Outstanding Edited Book Award for 2013! Winner of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society Outstanding Book Award for 2011! Winner of a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award for 2011! Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer organizes and presents information on the most studied large mammal species in the world. The book covers the evolutionary history of the species, its anatomy, physiology, and nutrition, population dynamics, and ecology across its vast range (from central Canada through northern South America). The book then discusses the history of management of white-tailed deer, beginning with early Native Americans and progressing through management by Europeans and examining population lows in the early 1900s, restocking efforts through the mid 1900s, and recent, overabundant populations that are becoming difficult to manage in many areas. Features: Co-published with the Quality Deer Management Association Compiles valuable information for white-tailed deer enthusiasts, managers, and biologists Written by an authoritative author team from diverse backgrounds Integrates white-tailed deer biology and management into a single volume Provides a thorough treatment of white-tailed deer antler biology Includes downloadable resources with color images The backbone of many state wildlife management agencies' policies and a featured hunting species through much of their range, white-tailed deer are an important species ecologically, socially, and scientifically in most areas of North America. Highly adaptable and now living in close proximity to humans in many areas, white-tailed deer are both the face of nature and the source of conflict with motorists, home-owners, and agricultural producers. Capturing the diverse aspects of white-tailed deer research, Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer is a reflection of the resources invested in the study of the species’ effects on ecosystems, predator-prey dynamics, population regulation, foraging behavior, and browser physiology.

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
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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.

Mixed-Species Groups of Animals

Mixed-Species Groups of Animals
Author: Eben Goodale
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2017-04-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128093056
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Mixed-Species Groups of Animals: Behavior, Community Structure, and Conservation presents a comprehensive discussion on the mixed-species groups of animals, a spectacular and accessible example of the complexity of species interactions. They are found in a wide range of animals, including invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds, and in different habitats, both terrestrial and aquatic, throughout the world. While there are more than 500 articles on this subject scattered in separate categories of journals, there has yet to be a general, cross-taxa book-length introduction to this subject that summarizes the behavior and community structure of these groups. The authors first survey the diversity of spatial associations among animals and then concentrate on moving groups. They review the major classes of theories that have been developed to explain their presence, particularly in how groups increase foraging efficiency and decrease predation. Finally, they explore the intricacies of species interactions, such as communication, that explain species roles in groups and discuss what implications these social systems have for conservation. Functions as a single resource for readers inside and outside of academia on mixed-species groups, serving as a foundation for future research in this field Begins with an empirical summary of mixed-species distribution and reviews how the theories explaining their adaptive benefits are supported by the evidence Includes many aspects of mixed-group behavior (e.g. foraging, communication, collective decision-making, dominance, social roles of species and leadership, relationship to conservation) that were not previously or easily accessible

Social Predation

Social Predation
Author: Guy Beauchamp
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2013-12-07
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0124076548
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The classic literature on predation dealt almost exclusively with solitary predators and their prey. Going back to Lotka-Volterra and optimal foraging theory, the theory about predation, including predator-prey population dynamics, was developed for solitary species. Various consequences of sociality for predators have been considered only recently. Similarly, while it was long recognized that prey species can benefit from living in groups, research on the adaptive value of sociality for prey species mostly emerged in the 1970s. The main theme of this book is the various ways that predators and prey may benefit from living in groups. The first part focusses on predators and explores how group membership influences predation success rate, from searching to subduing prey. The second part focusses on how prey in groups can detect and escape predators. The final section explores group size and composition and how individuals respond over evolutionary times to the challenges posed by chasing or being chased by animals in groups. This book will help the reader understand current issues in social predation theory and provide a synthesis of the literature across a broad range of animal taxa. Includes the whole taxonomical range rather than limiting it to a select few Features in-depth analysis that allows a better understanding of many subtleties surrounding the issues related to social predation Presents both models and empirical results while covering the extensive predator and prey literature Contains extensive illustrations and separate boxes that cover more technical features, i.e., to present models and review results