On Evaluation of Foraging Strategies Through Estimates of Reproductive Success

摘要: Foraging theories make predictions about how animals should behave so as to maximize energy gains, or gains in some other currency, given certain constraints. One assumption of such is that an animal forages according will acquire more resources, and thus have higher “fitness”, than a conspecific fails forage by the theoretical rules. This seldom tested any way directly related reproductive success individuals, foraging may be accused amount circular reasoning. For example, say theory predicts under conditions, forager ingest all encountered items prey type 1 “ignore” 2; behavior eventually contribute fitness (defined vaguely here success) forager. The prediction empirically, resulting data closely fit prediction. inference drawn from test must potential foragers might performed ways (such eating 2 ignoring 1).