Do ungulates exhibit a food density threshold? A field study of optimal foraging and movement patterns

Journal of Animal Ecology

Volumn 65, Issue 5, 1996, Pages 606-620

  Focardi, S ^a   Marcellini, P ^b   Montanaro, P ^a  

^a Istituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE   (Italy)

Author keywords

fallow deer; food search; mathematical model; optimal foraging behaviour

Indexed keywords

OPTIMAL FORAGING; TIME MINIMIZATION;

DAMA DAMA;

EID: 0030304595     PISSN: 00218790     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/5740     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Alt, W. (1990) Correlation analysis of two-dimensional locomotion paths. Biological motion (W. Alt & G. Hoffmann eds.), pp. 254-268. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
2. Arditi, R. & Dacorogna, B. (1988) Optimal foraging on arbitrary food distributions and the definition of habitat patches. American Naturalist, 131, 837-846.
3. Åström, M., Lundberg, P. & Danell, K. (1990) Partial prey consumption by browsers: trees as patches. Journal of Animal Ecology, 59, 287-300.
4. Batschelet, E. (1981) Circular Statistics in Biology, Academic Press, London.
5. Belovsky, G.E. (1978) Diet optimization in a generalist herbivore: the moose. Theoretical Population Biology, 14, 105-134.
6. Belovsky, G.E. (1984) Herbivore optimal foraging: a comparative test of three models American Naturalist, 124, 97-115.
7. Belovsky, G.E. (1994) How good must models and data be in ecology? Oecologia, 100, 475-480.
8. Benhamou, S. & Bovet, P. (1992) Distinguishing between elementary orientation mechanisms by means of path analysis. Animal Behaviour, 43, 371-377.
9. Bovet, P. & Benhamou, S. (1988) Spatial analysis of animals' movements using a correlated random walk model. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 131, 419-433.
10. Bovet, P. & Benhamou, S. (1990) Adaptation and orientation in animals' movements: random walk, kinesis, taxis and path integration. Biological Motion (W. Alt & G. Hoffmann eds.), pp. 297-304 Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
11. Bovet, P. & Benhamou, S. (1991) Optimal sinuosity in central place foraging movements. Animal Behaviour, 42, 57-62.
12. Charnov, E.L. (1976) Optimal foraging, the marginal value theorem. Theoretical Population Biology, 9, 129-136.
13. Demment, M.W. & Van Soest, P.J. (1985) A nutritional explanation for body-size patterns of ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores. American Naturalist, 125, 641-672.
14. Focardi, S., Toso, S., Marcellini, P. & Montanaro, P. (1994) The grazing pattern of female fallow deer living in a coastal Mediterranean forest. Proceedings of the XXIth IUGB Congress, Halifax, 15-20 August 1993, pp.319-326.
15. Focardi, S., Montanaro, P. & Tinelli, A. (1994) A non-destructive method for the estimate of vegetal biomass. Proceeding of the XXIth IUGB Congress, Halifax 15-20 August 1993, pp. 374-379.
16. Focardi, S. & Marcellini, P. (1995) A mathematical frame-work for optimal foraging of herbivores. Journal of Mathematical Biology, 33, 365-387.
17. Focardi, S., Poli, B.M. & Tinelli, A. (1995) The nutritional carrying capacity of four Mediterranean habitats for fallow deer (Dama dama). Revue d'Ecologie, 50, 97-107.
18. Fraenkel, G.S. & Gunn, D.L. (1961) The Orientation of Animals. Kinesis, Taxis and Compass reactions, Dover, New York.
19. Gillingham, M.P. & Bunnell, F.L. (1989) Effects of learning on food selection and searching behaviour of deer. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 67, 24-32.
20. Ginnett, T.F. &Demment, M.W. (1995) The functional response of herbivores: analysis and test of a simple mechanistic model. Functional Ecology, 9, 376-384.
21. Hartfiel, T.A. (1990) Nutrition and feeding. Deer farming. A Practical Guide to German Techniques (eds G. Rinken, W. Hartfiel & E. Korner), pp. 117-159. Farmer Press Books, Ipswich, UK.
22. Hobbs, N.T. (1990) Diet selection by generalist herbivores: a test of the linear programming model. Behavioural Mechanisms of Food Selection (ed. R.N Hughes), pp. 395-413. Nato ASI Series G20, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
23. Hofmann, R.R. (1989) Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaption and diversification of ruminants: a comparative view of their digestive system. Oecologia, 78, 443-457.
24. Huggard, D.J. (1994) A linear programming model of herbivore foraging: imprecise, yet successful? Oecologia, 100, 470-474.
25. Hughes, R.N. (1993) Diet Selection. An Interdisciplinary Approach to Foraging Behaviour, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
26. Illius, A.W. & Gordon, I.J. (1990) Constraints on diet selection and foraging behaviour in mammalian herbivores. Behavioural Mechanisms of Food Selection (ed. R.N. Hughes), pp. 369-392. Nato ASI Series G20. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
27. Illius, A.W. & Gordon, I.J. (1993) Diet selection in mammalian herbivores: constraints and tactics. Diet Selection. An Interdisciplinary Approach to foraging Behaviour (ed. R.N. Hughes), pp. 157-181. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
28. Jiang, Z. & Hudson, R.J. (1993) Optimal grazing of wapiti (Cervus elaphus) on grassland: patch and feeding station departure rules. Evolutionary Ecology, 7, 488-498.
29. Jonasson, S. (1988) Evaluation of the point intercept method for the estimation of plant biomass. Oikos, 52, 101-106.
30. Kacelnik, A & Bernstein, C. (1988) Optimal foraging and arbitrary food distribution: patch models gain a lease of life. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 3, 251-253.
31. Langvatn, R. & Hanley, T. A. (1993) Feeding-patch choice by red deer in relation to foraging efficiency. An experiment. Oecologia, 95, 164-170.
32. Lucas, J. & Schmid-Hempel, P. (1988) Diet choice in patches: time constraint and state-space solutions. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 131, 307-332.
33. McNair, J.N. (1979) A generalised model of optimal diets. Theoretical Population Biology, 15, 159-170.
34. McNamara, J.M. & Houston, A.I. (1987) Partial preferences and foraging. Animal Behaviour, 35, 1084-1099.
35. Myers, J.P. (1983) Perspectives in optimal foraging. Commentary Perspectives in Ornithology (eds A.H. Brush & G.A. Clark), pp. 216-221. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
36. Owen-Smith, N. & Novellie, P. (1982) What should a clever ungulate eat? American Naturalist, 119, 151-178.
37. Owen-Smith, N. (1993) Assessing the constraints for optimal diet models. Evolutionary Ecoloyy, 7, 530-531.
38. Poli, B.M., Focardi, S. & Tinelli, A. (in press) Composition and metabolizable energy of feed used by fallow deer (Dama dama) in a coastal Mediterranean ecosystem. Small Ruminant Research.
39. Provenza, F.D. & Balph, D.F. (1990) Applicability of five diet selection models to various foraging challenges ruminants encounter. Behavioural Mechanism of Food Selection (ed. R.N. Hughes), pp. 423-459. Nato ASI Seris G20. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
40. Pyke, G.H. (1978) Are animals efficient harvesters? Animal Behaviour, 26, 241-250.
41. Pyke, G.H. (1983) Animal movement: an optimal foraging approach The ecology of Animal Movement (eds I.R. Swingland & P.J. Greenwood), pp. 7-31. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
42. Real, L.A. (1979) Ecological determinants of functional response. Ecology, 60, 481-485.
43. Scharstein, H. & Alt, W. (1990) The influence of discrete position measurements on the correlation analysis of 2-dimensional tracks. Biological Motion (W. Alt & G. Hoffmann eds.), pp. 278-280. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
44. Spalinger, D.E. & Hobbs, N.T. (1992) Mechanism of foraging in mammalian herbivores: a new model of functional response. American Naturalist, 140, 325-348.
45. Stephens, D.W. & Krebs, J.R (1986) Foraging Theory, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
46. Tranquillo, R.T. & Alt, W. (1990) Glossary of terms concerning onented movements Biological Motion (eds W. Alt & G Hoffman), pp. 510-517. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
47. Underwood, R. (1983) The feeding behaviour of grazing African ungulates. Behaviour, 84, 195-243.
48. Vivås, H.J. & Saether, B.E. (1987) Interactions between a generalist herbivore, the moose Alces alces, and its food resources: an experimental study of winter foraging behaviour in relation to browse availability. Journal of Animal Ecology, 56, 509-520.
49. Ward, D. (1992) The role of satisficing in foraging theory. Oikos, 63, 312-317.
50. Westoby, M. (1974) An analysis of diet selection by large generalist herbivores. American Naturalist, 108, 290-304.