Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Foraging behaviour'
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Crocker, D. R. "Foraging behaviour in bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/47011.
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Lane, Judith Virginia. "Three-dimensional foraging behaviour of Northern gannets." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2018. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/22716/.
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Movements of animals form a vital link between individual behaviour and spatial processes affecting populations, communities and ecosystems. Predators often have to search for prey that is unpredictable or patchily distributed and increasingly have to do so in habitats that are changing as a result of climate change or anthropogenic activity. Our understanding of animal movement has been revolutionised by the development of miniaturised loggers which allow tracking of individual animals over a range of spatial and temporal scales. However, while flight heights of birds are a critical component of avian movement ecology, they have been little-studied in comparison to horizontal movements. In this thesis I examine the three-dimensional foraging behaviour of northern gannets (Morus bassanus) at the world's largest breeding colony, at Bass Rock, Scotland. I first combine GPS and pressure data to estimate flight heights, and develop a novel refinement that uses sea surface pressure data to correct estimated heights during long periods of sustained flight. I then investigate sexual differences and effects of weather on three-dimensional foraging behaviour, before examining potential population-level consequences of mortality from collisions with offshore wind turbines. I found that sexual differences in foraging behaviour extend to the heights at which birds fly, and that wind speed in particular has a marked effect on movements and behaviour at sea. I also found that predicted levels of mortality from offshore wind farms would be likely to retard population growth but unlikely to drive the population into long-term decline. My thesis describes some of the complexity and flexibility of gannet foraging behaviour and highlights the importance of understanding movements in three dimensions.
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Marshall, Harry. "Social foraging behaviour in a varying environment." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/11178.
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Social foraging behaviour has an important influence on individuals’ survival and reproduction through its role in the acquisition of food resources. It also determines the amount of foraging time required in differing environments, and so the amount of time available for other activities, such as socialising and resting, which have been implicated in an individual’s fitness, as well as the stability of the wider social group. In this thesis I explore the links between these two processes by investigating the drivers of social foraging behaviour, and how the foraging time budgets that this behaviour produces vary between environments. I do this using data collected from a wild population of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in Namibia, under both natural and field-experimental conditions, and through the development of an individual-based model (IBM). I show that baboon foraging decisions are influenced by social and non-social factors, but that the relative influence of these factors is dependent on the characteristics of the forager and the habitat it is in. These differences in decision-making appear to allow all individuals in a group to experience similar foraging success under natural conditions, but this pattern breaks down in extreme conditions. Using these findings to build an IBM of social foraging, I show that the time individuals need to spend foraging can increase rapidly in a deteriorating environment to the point where they are no longer able to gather enough resources. Overall, the findings of this thesis contribute to the growing appreciation that social foragers can exhibit a high degree of behavioural flexibility. These findings also emphasise the long-standing recognition that individual-level behaviours have an important influence on higher-level ecological patterns and processes and that an appreciation of this is important, not only for our understanding of these patterns and processes, but also for informing conservation and management.
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Burch, Alexandra. "The foraging behaviour of shallow water crabs." Thesis, Bangor University, 1998. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-foraging-behaviour-of-shallow-water-crabs(0e293f58-80a5-466f-8d3a-90ac3c384b4c).html.
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This is a study of the foraging behaviour of Carcinus maenas on Mytilus edulis and of Thalamita danae on Perna viridis. Particular attention is given to differences arising in foraging behaviour as a result of intraspecific prey heterogeneity and experimental protocol. Intersite and temporal differences in the population density, shell morphology, biomass and byssal attachment strength of Mytilus edulis were found. Byssal attachment strength and shell strength were highly variable amongst individuals of a similar size. Carcinus maenas is strongly heterochelous. Intraspecific differences in the chelal mechanics, but not in the chelal geometry, were recorded; major chelae of large male crabs were significantly stronger than the major chelae of females and small males. Stomach content analyses showed that Carcinus maenas has a broad diet in which Mytilus edulis forms an important component. Intersite differences inMytilus edulis shell morphology altered the foraging behaviour of Carcinus maenas, and intersite and temporal variations in mussel flesh weight altered the prey value curves. Both C. maenas and Thalamita danae were highly prey size-selective when foraging on groups of different sized mussels, the size of prey most vulnerable to predation altering with the size composition of the group. The handling times of mussels for both species of crab were reduced when mussels were presented as part of a group as compared to when mussels were presented singly. For Carcinus maenas the reduced handling times resulted from the less extensive gleaning of mussel shells whilst for Thalamita danae reduced handling times appeared to result from the greater use of a more time efficient opening technique. When Carcinus maenas were presented with mussels of differing attachment strengths, crabs selected more weakly attached mussels over those with a more firm and rigid attachment. This selection did not appear to be based on prey value or prey length but rather on the resulting slight movement of weakly attached mussels whenever these were touched by a foraging crab.
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Cuthill, I. C. "Experimental studies in optimal foraging theory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.371519.
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Godfrey, J. D. "Body-state dependent behaviour in birds." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.297839.
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Wilmshurst, John F. "Foraging behaviour and spatial dynamics of Serengeti herbivores." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ35816.pdf.
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Clowater, James S. "Distribution and foraging behaviour of wintering western grebes." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/mq37504.pdf.
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Kolling, Nils Stephen. "Decision making, the frontal lobes and foraging behaviour." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ea509f5e-dca4-44e5-9f3f-f7d6550e5b45.
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The aim of this thesis was to understand the function of the frontal lobes during different types of decisions thusfar mostly neglected in cognitive neuroscience. Namely, I sought to understand how decisions are made when comparisons are not about a simple set of concrete options presented, but rather require a comparison with one specific encounter and a sense of the value of the current environment (Chapter 2-3). Additionally, I wanted to understand how decisions between concrete options can be contextualized by the current environment to allow considerations about changing environmental constraints to factor into the decision making process (Chapter 4-5). At last, I wanted to test how the potential for future behaviours within an environment has an effect on peoples decisions (Chapter 6). In other words, how do people construct prospective value when it requires a sense of own future behaviours? All this work was informed by concepts and models originating from optimal foraging theory, which seeks to understand animal behaviours using computational models for different ecological types of choices. Thus, this thesis offers a perspective on the neural mechanisms underlying human decision making capacities that relates them to common problems faced by animals and presumably humans in ecological environments (Chapter 1 and 7). As optimal foraging theory assumes that solving these problems efficiently is highly relevant for survival, it is possible that neural structures evolved in ways to particularly accommodate for the solution of those problems. Therefore, different prefrontal structures might be dedicated to unique ways of solving ecological kinds of decision problems. My thesis as a whole gives some evidence for such a perspective, as dACC and vmPFC were repeatedly identified as constituting unique systems for evaluation according to different reference frames. Their competition within a wider network of areas appeared to ultimately drive decisions under changing contexts. In the future, a better understanding of those changing interactions between these prefrontal areas which generate more complex and adaptive behaviours, will be crucial for understanding more natural choice behaviours. For this temporally resolved neural measurements as well as causal interference will be essential.
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Gill, Bruce Douglas Carleton University Dissertation Biology. "Foraging behaviour of tropical forest Scarabaeinae in Panama." Ottawa, 1986.
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Tello, Ramos Maria Cristina. "The foraging behaviour of hummingbirds through space and time." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/7402.
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Central place foragers, such as territorial hummingbirds, feed from resources that tend to be constant in space and to replenish with time (e.g. nectar in flowers). The ability to remember both where and when resources are available would allow these animals to forage efficiently. Animals that feed at multiple locations would also benefit from forming routes between these multiple locations. Hummingbirds are thought to forage by repeating the order in which they visit several locations following a route called a “trapline”, although there are no quantitative data describing this behaviour. As a first step to determining how and if wild free living hummingbirds forage by traplining, I decomposed this behaviour into some of its key components. Through five field experiments, where I trained free-living hummingbirds to feed from artificial flowers, I confirmed that territorial hummingbirds will, in fact, trapline. Birds will use the shortest routes to visit several locations and will prioritize those locations that are closest to a usual feeding site. Additionally, even though hummingbirds can learn to use temporal information when visiting several patches of flowers, the spatial location of those patches has a larger influence in how these birds forage in the wild. Since male and female hummingbirds were thought to forage differently I also tested whether there were sex differences in the types of cues they use when foraging. Contrary to expectation, female hummingbirds will also use spatial cues to relocate a rewarded site. Using the foraging ecology of rufous hummingbirds to formulate predictions as to what information these birds should use has lead me to discover that these birds forage in a completely different way than previously thought.
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Mackney, Pamela Ann. "Memory windows in stickleback behaviour." Thesis, Bangor University, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.321388.
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Russell, Avery L., Sarah J. Morrison, Eleni H. Moschonas, and Daniel R. Papaj. "Patterns of pollen and nectar foraging specialization by bumblebees over multiple timescales using RFID." NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/622868.
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The ecological success of social insects is frequently ascribed to improvements in task performance due to division of labour amongst workers. While much research has focused on improvements associated with lifetime task specialization, members of colonies can specialize on a given task over shorter time periods. Eusocial bees in particular must collect pollen and nectar rewards to survive, but most workers appear to mix collection of both rewards over their lifetimes. We asked whether bumblebees specialize over timescales shorter than their lifetime. We also explored factors that govern such patterns, and asked whether reward specialists made more foraging bouts than generalists. In particular, we described antennal morphology and size of all foragers in a single colony and related these factors to each forager's complete foraging history, obtained using radio frequency identification (RFID). Only a small proportion of foragers were lifetime specialists; nevertheless, >50% of foragers specialized daily on a given reward. Contrary to expectations, daily and lifetime reward specialists were not better foragers (being neither larger nor making more bouts); larger bees with more antennal olfactory sensilla made more bouts, but were not more specialized. We discuss causes and functions of short and long-term patterns of specialization for bumblebee colonies.
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Chalk, Daniel. "Artificially intelligent foraging." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10036/96455.
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Bumble bees (bombus spp.) are significant pollinators of many plants, and are particularly attracted to mass-flowering crops such as Oilseed Rape (Brassica Napus), which they cross-pollinate. B. napus is both wind and insect-pollinated, and whilst it has been found that wind is its most significant pollen vector, the influence of bumble bee pollination could be non-trivial when bee densities are large. Therefore, the assessment of pollinator-mediated cross-pollination events could be important when considering containment strategies of genetically modified (GM) crops, such as GM varieties of B. napus, but requires a landscape-scale understanding of pollinator movements, which is currently unknown for bumble bees. I developed an in silico model, entitled HARVEST, which simulates the foraging and consequential inter-patch movements of bumble bees. The model is based on principles from Reinforcement Learning and Individual Based Modelling, and uses a Linear Operator Learning Rule to guide agent learning. The model incoproates one or more agents, or bees, that learn by ‘trial-and-error’, with a gradual preference shown for patch choice actions that provide increased rewards. To validate the model, I verified its ability to replicate certain iconic patterns of bee-mediated gene flow, and assessed its accuracy in predicting the flower visits and inter-patch movement frequencies of real bees in a small-scale system. The model successfully replicated the iconic patterns, but failed to accurately predict outputs from the real system. It did, however, qualitatively replicate the high levels of inter-patch traffic found in the real small-scale system, and its quantitative discrepancies could likely be explained by inaccurate parameterisations. I also found that HARVEST bees are extremely efficient foragers, which agrees with evidence of powerful learning capabilities and risk-aversion in real bumble bees. When applying the model to the landscape-scale, HARVEST predicts that overall levels of bee-mediated gene flow are extremely low. Nonetheless, I identified an effective containment strategy in which a ‘shield’ comprised of sacrificed crops is placed between GM and conventional crop populations. This strategy could be useful for scenarios in which the tolerance for GM seed set is exceptionally low.
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Otero, Villanueva Maria del Mar. "Diets, energetics and ecology of the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris." Thesis, Open University, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.272955.
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Agnes, Maria M. "Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus abelii, spatial memory and foraging behaviour." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq22841.pdf.
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Toussidou, Asimoula. "Foraging behaviour of Aphidus colemani at different spatial scales." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.397945.
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Nichol, Alison Claire. "Water load : a physiological limitation to bumblebee foraging behaviour?" Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.620933.
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Baker, David J. "The foraging behaviour of granivorous birds : a mechanistic perspective." Thesis, Bournemouth University, 2010. http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/17301/.
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1. The functional response, i.e. the feeding rate as a function of prey density, links resource availability to population level demographic rates. The functional response is often central to behavioural-based population models that predict the effect of environmental changes on populations based on the assumption that each individual tries to maximise its fitness at all times. 2. The functional response is a well studied phenomenon for some groups of foragers and many mechanistic models of the functional response have been derived to account for variations in foraging behaviour. However, only a few functional response models have been applied to granivorous farmland birds and these models often have simplifying assumptions that are likely to be inappropriate for these foragers. Consequently, the functional response models that often lie at the core of behavioural-based population models are untested and quite possibly provide a poor prediction of the functional response. 3. The objectives of this thesis are to: (i) test the ability of functional response models to predict the functional response of granivorous birds; (ii) identify incorrect assumptions in these models; and (iii) derive new functional response models that better describe the observed behaviour of these foragers. 4. Here I have found that many of the underlying assumptions of simple functional response models are inappropriate for granivorous birds and several new mechanistic models have been derived that attempt to describe the behaviour more accurately. Vigilance was shown to frequently interact with incompatible behavioural processes (i.e. searching) and affect the feeding rate at low prey densities. Handling time was divided into two components (i.e. attack and process) and a simple mechanistic model was derived to predict the attack component of prey handling. The searching mode of granivorous birds was shown to be akin to a pause-travel forager at low prey densities and, lastly, habitat structure was shown to reduce the feeding rate by restricting the searching area. 5. These finding will help in the development of more biologically 'realistic' functional response models and provide a more accurate prediction of the functional response when used to predict the effect of environmental change on the intake rate of foragers. z
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Brooks, Christopher John. "The foraging behaviour of Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli antiquorum)." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/9dac90e0-80f4-4ebf-91d3-a43befc3255b.
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Pierce, G. J. "The foraging behaviour of the common shrew, Sorex araneus." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1985. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU362790.
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Stutz, Rebecca Silvana. "Plant drivers of foraging behaviour in a generalist browser." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/14341.
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Herbivore foraging decisions culminating in the consumption of any particular plant are complex and multi-faceted, shaped both by the plant itself and by its neighbours. My overarching aim was to understand the ways in which plants influence foraging behaviours in a generalist browser. I explored this aim using free-ranging swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) as a model and examined the plant drivers leading to their consumption of palatable focal plants (native tree seedlings, Eucalyptus pilularis). My specific objectives were to: (1) identify the characteristics of neighbouring plants that affect browsing of focal plants; (2) quantify the behavioural response of the herbivore to neighbouring plants when neighbours protect focal plants from browsing, and when they fail as refuges; (3) assess the role of leaf odour in palatable plant detection amongst interspecific neighbours; and (4) test whether herbivores use olfactory and visual plant cues to browse differentially on intraspecific plants varying in nutritional quality. My study identified vegetation characteristics providing associational refuge at two spatial scales consistent with disrupted search and detection of focal seedlings by herbivores. I demonstrated that neighbouring vegetation reduced investment in searching behaviour by wallabies during visits to manipulated patches and this drove associational plant refuge. At the patch level, foraging decisions were influenced both by odour and visual cues of plants, allowing wallabies to find food plants and to differentiate between plants of differing nutritional quality. Plant neighbours and cues emitted by plants themselves can influence foraging decisions and thus drive patterns of herbivory.
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van, der Wal Jessica Eva Megan. "Studies on the foraging behaviour of New Caledonian crows." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13047.
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Anderson, Carl. "The organisation of foraging in insect societies." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.286576.
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Street, Nigel E. "Group size and foraging in stoneloach, Noemacheilus barbatulus." Thesis, University of Leicester, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34240.
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The effects of group size on aspects of stoneloach foraging behaviour were examined in laboratory experiments. Fish were observed under dark conditions, using infra red illumination and video equipment. Experiments were timed to coincide with the stoneloach's natural time of maximum activity, immediately after a period of artificially simulated dusk. Individual stoneloach located a concealed food source more rapidly when group size was increased from one to five fish. Large quantitative differences were observed between fish, and those which were slow to locate food when alone remained poor when conspecifics were present. Over a 900 sec period, individuals in groups of five fish spent a greater proportion of available time searching, and appeared to sample the environment more, when compared with individuals in groups of only two. An increase in sampling may have counteracted the observed reduction in the number of feeding attempts by the fish in the larger groups, which resulted from the increased emphasis on searching. Groups of both six and twelve fish, foraging in tanks comprising two feeding areas each containing a patch, and a central area where no food was available, distributed themselves roughly in accordance with the predictions of an ideal free distribution when patches were equally profitable. When the patches differed in profitability in a ratio of either 2:1 or 5:1, the number of fish found in the low profitability area was as predicted. However, the number found in the high profitability area fell below that predicted, due to the presence of some individuals in the central area of the tanks. It is suggested that the latter individuals were found in the central area as a result of non-aggressive interference between individuals in the high profitability area. Finally, the marginal value theorem was used to predict the optimal patch residence time. The prediction was met in experimental tests at a group size of one, but at group sizes of two or five fish the observed time was significantly lower than that predicted.
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Lenz, Friedrich. "Statistical analysis and stochastic modelling of foraging bumblebees." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2013. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/8542.
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In the analysis of movement patterns of animals, stochastic processes play an important role, providing us with a variety of tools to examine, model and simulate their behaviour. In this thesis we focus on the foraging of specific animals - bumblebees - and analyse experimental data to understand the influence of changes in the bumblebees’ environment on their search flights. Starting with a discussion of main classes of stochastic models useful for the description of foraging animals, we then look at a multitude of environmental factors influencing the dynamics of animals in their search for food. With this background we examine flight data of foraging bumblebees obtained from a laboratory experiment by stochastic analyses. The main point of interest of this analysis is the description, modelling and understanding of the data with respect to the influence of predatory threats on the bumblebee’s foraging search flights. After this detail-oriented view on interactions of bumblebees with food sources and predators in the experimental data, we develop a generalized reorientation model. By extracting the necessary information from the data, we arrive at a generalized correlated random walk foraging model for bumblebee flights, which we discuss and compare to the experimental data via simulations. We finish with a discussion of anomalous fluctuation relations and some results on spectral densities of autocorrelation functions. While this part is not directly related to the analysis of foraging, it concerns a closely related class of stochastic processes described by Langevin equations with non- trivial autocorrelation functions analyse experimental data to understand the influence of changes in the bumblebees’ environment on their search flights. Starting with a discussion of main classes of stochastic models useful for the description of foraging animals, we then look at a multitude of environmental factors influencing the dynamics of animals in their search for food. With this background we examine flight data of foraging bumblebees obtained from a laboratory experiment by stochastic analyses. The main point of interest of this analysis is the description, modelling and understanding of the data with respect to the influence of predatory threats on the bumblebee’s foraging search flights. After this detail-oriented view on interactions of bumblebees with food sources and predators in the experimental data, we develop a generalized reorientation model. By extracting the necessary information from the data, we arrive at a generalized correlated random walk foraging model for bumblebee flights, which we discuss and compare to the experimental data via simulations. We finish with a discussion of anomalous fluctuation relations and some results on spectral densities of autocorrelation functions. While this part is not directly related to the analysis of foraging, it concerns a closely related class of stochastic processes described by Langevin equations with nontrivial autocorrelation functions.
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Hesp, Lee. "Age-related foraging behaviour in the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus)." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.238231.
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Le, Masurier Andrew David. "Clutch size and foraging behaviour in Apanteles spp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/47004.
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Hutchen, Jenna. "Snowshoe hare abundance and foraging behaviour in recently burned forests." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/62420.
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A combination of climate change and decades of fire suppression has led to an increase in the size of wildfires in North American conifer forests. Large wildfires are more heterogeneous than smaller fires because of their landscape context and fire-weather that ignites them. Larger fires are patchier, and have more opportunities for good habitat, but they also produce large patches of open area where prey species are exposed to predation. For many mammal species, such as snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) this patchiness means having to navigate quite different habitat patches while trying to locate adequate cover and food. The density of animals in burns of different sizes, and how individuals behave while foraging in those within-burn patches, is unknown for many species. This study addresses these knowledge gaps (fire size and within-burn patchiness) with two studies. First, I assessed densities of snowshoe hare in 9 wildfires that burned 13 years ago (3 each of small (~100 ha), medium (1000-5000 ha), and large (>10,000 ha)) and in mature forests in southern British Columbia to determine if fire size impacts hare density. I found that hares were highly variable in large burns but when they were present the densities were the highest of any sites. Hares were absent from small burns and most medium burns. Hares were commonly present in mature forests but at much lower densities than in large burns.
Second, I assessed snowshoe hare foraging behaviour by measuring tortuosity, speed of movement, and amount of browse along winter foraging pathways in open and regenerating patches of the Okanagan Mountain Park fire (>25,000 ha) and surrounding mature forest. I found that hares moved the fastest and browsed the least in open patches, and moved slower and ate more in sapling patches. Hares did not change tortuosity. The data from these two studies show that fire size is an important predictor of snowshoe hare density and that hares change foraging behaviour to some degree based on the type of habitat they are in.Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences (Okanagan)
Biology, Department of (Okanagan)
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Gillingham, Michael Patrick. "Foraging behaviour of captive black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus)." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/25798.
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A review of the literature on black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus Richardson) feeding habits reveals considerable variation among animals, locations, and seasons. Processes affecting food selection, however, are poorly understood. Optimal foraging theory was explored as a means of predicting deer foraging behaviour and diet breadth. Because of complex constraints and objectives involved in predicting diet selection, food preference was determined under ad libitum conditions. Feeding behaviour of two deer was studied in a 0.5-ha enclosure to examine the effects of density and distribution of their preferred foods on diet selection.
When deer had to search for food, diet selection remained the same as that under ad libitum conditions as long as preferred food was abundant. Deer nearly exhausted their highly preferred food before switching to lower ranked foods. This switch was gradual, as deer continued to search for preferred food. The amount of preferred food already eaten during a trial was positively correlated with the time that animals would continue searching before switching to lower-ranked foods. Switching was related to the amount and type of food encountered and not to the amount of food in the pen. Dispersion of the preferred food (clumped versus unclumped) had no significant effect on the amount of food eaten, but did significantly influence the types of food encountered by one of the two animals. Both animals became more efficient (intake per distance travelled) at finding preferred foods with increasing experience with a specific distribution of food. Animals increased their efficiency of finding apples by repeating searching patterns which had been effective during previous trials. Performance was poor, however, when distributions were changed. When preferred food was abundant, platforms containing preferred food were not always completely cleared of food the first time a platform was visited. Intake rates of non-preferred foods tended to increase with declining abundance of preferred food. This increase was not caused by changes in the amount of non-preferred food eaten at feeding stations, but rather by the rate at which non-preferred feeding stations were visited.
The influence of intraspecific plant variation on food habit studies and the utility of preference indices are discussed. I conclude that foraging bouts are highly dynamic and that some foraging questions may not be adequately answered if this internal variation is ignored.Forestry, Faculty of
Graduate
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Webster, Michael Munro. "Foraging behaviour of shoaling fishes : information gathering and prey competition." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/29743.
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Firstly I investigated the use of asocial and social information use; the potential for inexpensively acquiring information about prey resources is one advantage of social foraging. Threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) assimilated and used private information about prey distribution between different social information cues, and when these conflicted with their private information, they based their foraging decisions upon the former, suggesting that there are costs associated with non-conformist foraging behaviour. Secondly, I investigated prey competition, a major cost associated with social foraging. I found that increasing group stability, and by inference familiarity, led to a decrease in the rate of kleptoparasitic prey competition within shoals when they were foraging for dispersed prey. When prey were concentrated however there was no effect of group stability upon prey competition level. Prey competition was less intense between familiar individuals that were embedded in unfamiliar shoals than it was between these and their unfamiliar shoal mates. Finally I investigated the role of individual behavioural variation in relation to social information use and prey competition. Boldness across a number of contexts was seen to correlate with individual competitive ability, predicting the outcomes of both inter- and intra-specific prey competition interactions. Interestingly, the use of public information, a risk-averse strategy consistent with the shy behavioural phenotype, was not seen to be related to individual boldness. The broader significance of the findings of this thesis is considered in the context of previous research, and directions for future work are identified and discussed.
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Gedir, Jay V. "Foraging behaviour and intake in wapiti hinds (Cervus elaphus canadensis)." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ39529.pdf.
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Egas, Cornelis Johannes Martijn. "Foraging behaviour and the evolution of specialisation in herbivorous arthropods." [S.l. : Amsterdam : s.n.] ; Universiteit van Amsterdam [Host], 2002. http://dare.uva.nl/document/62893.
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Lindqvist, Christina. "Domestication effects on foraging behaviour : consequences for adaptability in chickens." Doctoral thesis, Linköping : IFM Biology, Linköping University, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-11237.
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Pashley, H. E. "Feeding and optimization : The foraging behaviour of Nereis diversicolor (Polychaeta)." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.372297.
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Adair, D. E. "Physiological senescence, predatory pressure and the foraging behaviour of bees." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.595336.
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This dissertation explores the relationship between metabolic rate, mortality and the foraging behaviour of bees. A basic underlying assumption of some optimal foraging models is that harder working individuals die earlier. A trade-off between foraging activity and longevity may have implications for colony growth, and ultimately for colony reproductive success. Optimality models make quantitative predictions about behaviour from analyses of costs and benefits. When the 'currency' in such models is energy, costs are usually evaluated with metabolic rate data from laboratory studies. Laboratory data often represent pooled results for steady-state activity under standardised conditions, and as such, may bear little resemble to the metabolic costs incurred by individuals in the field. The research presented here uses the non-invasive doubly labelled water method to provide the first direct measurements of field metabolic rate in honeybees and the first direct measurements for bumblebees foraging at natural sources. The results suggest that ecological factors such as ambient temperature or flower-type affect metabolic rate to such an extent that models based on laboratory costs have little or no predictive value. An activity vs. longevity trade-off is tantamount to the 'rate of living' theory of senescence, a theory often invoked to explain mortality in foraging bees. It is a purely mechanistic theory, however, and as such is often opposed on evolutionary grounds: the rate of ageing should be tuned to the pressure of extrinsic mortality (predation, disease and accidents), and senescent death should rarely occur in natural populations.
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Lewis, Sue. "The foraging behaviour and population dynamics of the northern gannet." Thesis, Durham University, 2002. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4125/.
Full textAbstract:
The northern gannet Morus bassanus population has been increasing in size over the last century. Larger gannet colonies in the British Isles are growing more slowly per capita than the smaller ones. For the first time, this study provides empirical evidence consistent with the hypothesis that seabird populations are regulated through density dependent competition for food (a theory proposed four decades ago). On average, gannets from larger colonies have to travel further to forage than birds from smaller colonies, leading to reduced provisioning rates at larger colonies. Differences were found in the foraging behaviour of male and female gannets. Females dived deeper and spent more time resting on the sea surface than males. Females also tended to forage in a specific location whereas males were much more variable. This was the first demonstration of sex-specific foraging behaviour in a monomorphic seabird. Foraging location and depth may be driven by sex-specific dietary needs, differences in foraging efficiency or competitive ability. State dependent foraging decisions were examined. Typically, gannets alternate foraging at sea with periods attending the chick at the nest. However, sometimes the attending parent will leave the chick alone. This decision is influenced by the prolonged absence of the partner and a low arrival mass of the adult, prior to its attendance shift. Unattended foraging trips were shorter in duration and therefore closer to the colony than attended trips. Since leaving the chick unattended is risky, there is a trade-off between offspring predation and short-term food requirements. When aspects of the foraging behaviour of gannets were compared between a large and small colony, both striking contrasts and similarities were evident. At the larger colony there were no sex differences in trip duration or the propensity to leave the chick alone whilst at the smaller colony males made significantly shorter trips than females and left the chick alone much more than females. However at both colonies unattended trips were shorter than attended trips. These results suggest interactions between density dependent competition and sex-specific individual behaviour. Identifying important areas for foraging is a major challenge for marine conservation. This study has demonstrated that colony size, sex and condition all affect the foraging decisions of the northern gannet.
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Hamilton, J. Graeme. "The foraging behaviour of the carabid beetle Pterostichus madidus (F.)." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/38027.
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Thornton, James Alexander Nicholas. "Social influences on the development of foraging behaviour in meerkats." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.613195.
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Wright, Emma. "The effect of pathogens on honeybee learning and foraging behaviour." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/57266/.
Full textAbstract:
The European honeybee, Apis mellifera, is important economically not just for honey production but also as a pollinator. Bee pollinated plants contribute towards one third of the food eaten worldwide. However, honeybee numbers in some areas are declining. A range of interacting factors are thought to be involved, including pathogens and parasites, loss of forage, pesticide use, bad weather, and limited genetic variability. Pathogens are also known to cause changes in the behaviour of their hosts and these premortality and sublethal effects of disease may well play a role in colony declines and are the focus of this thesis. For individual bees the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae was used as a model pathogen and RT-Q-PCR was used to detect and quantify naturally occurring pathogens. In field colonies the level of infestation of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor was modified as a surrogate for disease load as the amounts of many viruses correlate with mite levels. Survival experiments showed that both disease load and forage availability had an effect on honeybee longevity and feeding the bees pollen increased their survival. Learning experiments showed that both the fungus and some of the bees’ naturally occurring pathogens caused changes in the learning ability of young adult and older forager bees. Young adult bees were better able to learn when infected with the fungus, possibly because it made them more responsive to the sucrose stimulus, whilst older forager bees where less able to learn when infected with the fungus. Harmonic radar was used to show that honeybee flight ability was affected by naturally occurring pathogens, especially deformed wing virus which caused bees to fly shorter distances and for shorter amounts of time than uninfected bees. Observation hives were used to study in-hive behaviour showing that bees with more pathogens were likely to start foraging earlier than healthier bees.
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Hewitson, Lindsey. "The foraging behaviour of sheep in response to environmental uncertainty." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/15021.
Full textAbstract:
When foraging alone in a indoor arena, sheep adjusted their patch leaving behaviour according to their expression of patch quality. This was achieved by combining information about the average probability of reward within a patch with recent patch experience. In a supplementary experiment no significant relationship could be found between the patch leaving behaviour leaving behaviour of the sheep in this experiment and measures of personality traits for the individual animals. Under the same conditions, but paired with another sheep of known dominance status a second experiment investigated the effect of increased social complexity on patch leaving behaviour. The behaviour of individuals became less efficient as sheep of different social status diverged in behaviour. Dominant animals followed and challenged subordinate animals for patch access. Subordinate animals relinquished patch information to avoid conflict with dominants. When given a choice between predictable and variable patches offering the same mean reward in the third experiment, sheep selected that predictable patch regardless of recent patch experiences. As the time between successive patch visits increased sheep reverted to a random choice, except where recent experience on the variable patch had been negative, highlighting the persistence in memory of sheep for negative over positive or neutral experience and providing evidence for a win-stay strategy of foraging. In a final pasture experiment combining spatial, temporal and social factors, sheep foraged more efficiently when resource distribution was stable and predictable. Sheep used spatial memory to return to feeding stations within a site as a strategy to avoid competition from other flock members. This study found evidence that sheep behave flexibly and rapidly to changes in their foraging environment. Social constraints and the costs of obtaining and retaining information in a variable environment influenced efficiency in foraging behaviour.
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Borges, Carla Débora Gonçalves. "Interaction of human foraging behaviour and prey life-history traits." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/774.
Full textAbstract:
Mestrado em Ecologia, Biodiversidade e Gestão de EcossistemasO presente trabalho propõe-se divulgar a pesquisa passada e recente no âmbito das consequências da exploração de recursos costeiros pelo homem na biologia das espécies alvo e na comunidade onde estas estão inseridas. A ênfase das pesquisas aqui apresentadas recai principalmente sobre moluscos bentónicos e lapas em particular, dada a ocorrência de protandria (mudança de sexo de macho para fêmea ao longo do ciclo de vida) em algumas das espécies usadas como recurso alimentar. Questões relacionadas modos de reprodução, hermafroditismo e mudança de sexo no mundo animal são igualmente focadas como introdução aos últimos capítulos da dissertação onde se aborda essas questões mais profundamente. No capítulo final são apresentados trabalhos científicos que retratam a importância das áreas marinhas protegidas na conservação de espécies costeiras. ABSTRACT: The present work aims to bring to public, past and present research in the costal resources exploitation by Man and its consequences upon target species and the surrounding community. Particular attention is given to benthic molluscs and limpets in particular due to the occurrence of protandry (sex change from male to female during the life cycle) in some of the harvested species. The issues related to reproduction mode, hermaphroditism and sex change in animals are presented first as to introduce later chapters where these subjects are deepened. The final chapter presents relevant research of the use marine protected areas to the conservation of coastal species.
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Wege, Mia. "Maternal foraging behaviour of Subantarctic fur seals from Marion Island." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/37354.
Full textAbstract:
Foraging forms the cornerstone of an animal’s life-history. An individual's
foraging success shapes the demography and health of a population. Understanding key facets of maternal foraging behaviour are crucial to get a holistic picture of both
regional and local environmental factors that drive foraging behaviour. This study
aimed to measure the maternal foraging behaviour of a marine top predator, the
Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis), from Marion Island (MI) over a range of
spatial and temporal scales.
Arctocephalus tropicalis females from MI have one of the longest duration
foraging trips for the species. They are most similar to conspecifics at temperate
Amsterdam Island, but differ considerably from those at subantarctic Îles Crozet and
Macquarie Island. Hitherto, no diving data existed for MI females. I illustrate how their
diving behaviour is more similar to individuals from Îles Crozet despite their differences
in foraging trip parameters. Together with Îles Crozet, MI females have one of the
deepest mean diving depths (34.5 ± 2.2 m , 45.2 ± 4.8 m summer and winter
respectively) and longest dive durations (70.2 ± 3 s , 104.3 ± 7.8 s summer and winter respectively) for the species. In summer, females follow the diel vertical migration of
their myctophid prey. Counter intuitively, during the winter, females performed short
and shallow crepuscular dives, possibly foraging on different prey. Considering that
these individuals dive in deep waters, this is most likely related to myctophids
occupying lower depths in the water column during winter. At dusk and dawn they are
inaccessible to diving fur seals.
At-sea data from multiple foraging trips per female illustrated that females have
both a colony- and individual preferred foraging direction which varied seasonally.
Individuals travelled consistently in the same direction regionally, but locally appear to
track prey in a heterogeneous environment. The few trips in the winter to the west of
MI suggest that this is a short-term response to varying prey availability rather than a
long-term foraging tactic.
Six years of observer-based attendance cycle data were used to augment
telemetry data. Multi-state mark-recapture models were used to determine the probability of a female being missed when she was present (detection probability).
Attendance data were corrected accordingly. Neither El Niño (EN) nor anomalous seasurface
temperature (SSTa) influenced any of the attendance cycle parameters, as
foraging trip duration is a poor predictor of weak environmental change. Only season
and pup sex had a significant impact on female provisioning rates. Foraging trip
duration was longer during winter than during summer. Females spent a higher
percentage of time on land when they had female pups rather than male pups. Although
observational attendance data remain useful it ideally requires concomitant data on pup
growth, production and female body condition to elucidate changes in female
provisioning rates. Temporally, season had the most influence on female foraging behaviour.
Spatially, it appears that a lack of prominent local bathymetrical features overshadows
MI's favourable position in the productive Polar Frontal Zone. Arctocephalus tropicalis
females from MI work harder at foraging than at any other island population of
conspecifics.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Zoology and Entomology
Unrestricted
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Shepherdson, D. J. "Foraging behaviour and space use in the European badger (Meles meles L.)." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.377581.
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Palameta, Boris. "The importance of socially transmitted information in the acquisition of novel foraging skills by pigeons and canaries." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.238208.
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Namaghi, Hussein Sadeghi. "Oviposition preference and larval performance in hoverflies." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.310929.
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Futter, Keith. "Age and sex differences in the foraging behaviour of lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) in mixed species flocks." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.238223.
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Shore, Richard Francis. "Effects of variation in environmental calcium availibility on wild rodent populations." Thesis, University of Manchester, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.252786.
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Britton, Adam Robert Corden. "Flight performance, echolocation and prey capture behaviour in trawling Myotis bats." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.319104.
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Hay, CT, PC Cross, and PJ Funston. "Trade-offs of predation and foraging explain sexual segregation in African buffalo." British Ecological Society, 2008. http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1000454.
Full textAbstract:
1.Many studies have investigated why males and females segregate spatially in sexually dimorphic
species. These studies have focused primarily on temperate zone ungulates in areas lacking intact
predator communities, and few have directly assessed predation rates in different social environments.
2.Data on the movement, social affiliation, mortality and foraging of radio-collared African
buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
were collected from 2001–06 in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
3.The vast majority of mortality events were due to lion (Panthera leo)
predation, and the mortality hazard associated with being an adult male buffalo in a male-only ‘bachelor’ group was almost four times higher than for adult females in mixed herds. The mortality rates of adult males
and females within mixed herds were not statistically different. Mortality sites of male and female buffalo were in areas of low visibility similar to those used by bachelor groups, while mixed herds
tended to use more open habitats.
4.Males in bachelor groups ate similar or higher quality food (as indexed by percentage faecal nitrogen), and moved almost a third less distance per day compared with mixed herds. As a result,
males in bachelor groups gained more body condition than did males in breeding herds.
5.Recent comparative analyses suggest the activity-budget hypothesis as a common underlying cause
of social segregation. However, our intensive study, in an area with an intact predator community
showed that male and female buffalo segregated by habitat and supported the predation-risk hypothesis. Male African buffalo appear to trade increased predation risk for additional energy
gains in bachelor groups, which presumably leads to increased reproductive success.