What is Foraging Behavior?

According to our textbook, foraging behavior also known as feeding behavior involves locating and selecting food as well as gathering and capturing food. (1136). It also states that ecologist study the cost and benefits of searching for and selecting certain types of food as well as the mechanism used to locate prey. (1136). Foraging behaviors also have other characteristics such as optimal foraging and whether or not the species is considered a generalist or a specialist. Every animal uses its own attack strategy when it comes to foraging behavior and their prey have their own technique on how to Lessing there changes of being eaten. Our textbook defines optimal foraging as the most efficient way for an animal to obtain food. You would think that animals just eat whatever they see and what’s available but this hypothesis is absolutely wrong. According to Darrell Ray, an American Biology teacher human also go through a phase of optimal behavior. Darrell did an experiment with his general ecology class involving a plate of cookies and broccoli. In his experiment he polled how many students would choose a cookie over broccoli. At the end of his experiment he asked his students why did the majority pick cookies over broccoli. There response was because of the taste. Optimal foraging theory suggests a different answer, and it lies in the economic principle of profitability.” Fats and sugars do taste good, as the students noted, but sugars have the added benefit of providing a rapidly available energy boost, while fats have high caloric density. () Grizzly bears are used in the textbook to illustrate optimal foraging in animals. Grizzly bears are characteristic as being a generalist species. According to North American Animals, Grizzly bears are omnivorous and will eat nearly any nutritious foods which include mosses, fungi, grasses, herbs, new shoots, leaves, buds, flowers, roots, bulbs, tubers, fruits, nuts, and berries. () They do eat insects and small animals as well but most of the time it’s some sort of plant. To get a better understanding on how optimal foraging is seen in bears, the textbook states that a grizzly bear would mostly like stay in one place and dig for food then to go out and chase it’s food. The reason being is due to the fact that it is more energy efficient to dig for food because the bears’ efforts probably will be rewarded whereas leaving him hungry and unsuccessful because the prey got away.() Another example the textbook give us is how lions forage. On page 1137 there is a graph that shows optimal foraging is based upon the lion’s group size. During seasons where food was in demand the size of the group didn’t matter but when there was a low supply of available food the size matter. As stated previously grizzly bears are considered generalist. Generalist can be defined as species that are able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources. Other examples of generalist species include but not limited to: deer, mice, and raccoons. According to an article on uiidaho.edu Deer have biological characteristics that require them to specialize in eating nutritious browse like shrubs that are high in energy and easy to digest. Deer require less food because specialized diet requires that they spend more time selecting the more nutritious food. Deer are always in search of food because it provides energy that helps them regulate their body temperatures. When deer’s forage they eat the most nutritious part of a plant. Their diet consists of but not limited to terrestrial and aquatic herbaceous plants, fungi, shrubs, twigs and fruits. ESF states that deer have a specialize feeding system that include a four-part stomach containing bacteria and protozoan that aid in digesting cellulose, and a tough cartilaginous pad in place of the upper incisors. Mice as some of us know look really cute in a cage but when one is loose in your house, that’s a different story. Mice nibble on many things such as nuts, apples, wood, and clothing. Mice are the one of the best examples when it comes to being a generalist. Finally, we have raccoons. Another great example of a generalist because raccoons to adjust to any environment. They eat plants, berries as well as whatever they can find on the ground and in trashcans. Besides the animal species, humans can be characterized as generalist as well. We are known for adapting to our environment with an emphasize on our weather. Specialists on the other hand are the complete opposite of a generalist. Specialists only thrive in a narrow range of environmental conditions or they have a limited diet. Despite being limited theses species do adapt well to their environment. However if there is an unexpected change specialist species are at risk of becoming extinct. Some examples of a specialist’s species are but not limited to kola bear, giraffe, and a panda bear. Kola bears can be found at the top area of eucalyptus trees. These animals are considered specialist because they mainly feed on eucalyptus leaves and live in a certain climate condition in eastern Australia. Koalas usually feed on leaves a few hours a day and sleep the remainder. Giraffes are unique in their own way. Their eating habits make them a specialist. With their long necks they eat fruits but mainly leaves off the top of tall trees. When it comes to foraging male giraffes feed on the top part or the trees which contain more fiber. The female diet is referred to as more nutritious because they feed on the lower part of the trees. According to wisegeek.com, specialists are more successful than generalist because they can take a wider range of circumstances. Generalist species have to compete more with other speices which makes them have a fixed amount of food (). . Lions have their own foraging technique. When it comes to hunting prey lions usually hunt in a pack known as prides. This might consist of 3 to four female lions that wont keep the prey they capture to themselves but share it with the pride once they return back to the den. Lions usually hunt large animals such as buffalo, water bucks, and zebras. Females are usually the ones that do most of the hunting. When it comes to larger prey such as buffalo and giraffes, the males are the ones who kill them. These animals require more strength than speed. When it comes to taking down the lions first bite is usually to the throat or muzzle. Aquatic animals foraging behaviors can be quite interesting. For instances comb jellies. The encyclopedia of Aquatic life (182), states that comb jellies have six lobes that project from it’s mid range. These lobes are used to capture food. The tentacles function as drifting nets that drift freely in the water capturing prey as it floats by. A comb jelly’s diet consists of plankton, crustaceans, mollusks, red salps and other jelly fish. Polar bears enjoying eating the blubber on seals. They also eat animals such as walruses, belugas, narwhals, and seabirds (Guide to Marine Mammals of the World, Pieter folkens p. 40). Polar bears do most of their hunting and traveling on ice. Despite polar bears being good swimmers they rarely hunt in the water. Some whales are considered bottom feeders. A whale’s diet can consist of many items ranging from zooplankton, small fishes, cephalopods, seals and cetaceans. Whales attack their prey they go after them in full speed. Some whales swallow their prey one by one or in a group.