A guide to central place effects in foraging

Ola Olsson, Joel S. Brown and Kurt L. Helf

Theoretical Population Biology, 2008, vol. 74, issue 1, 22-33

Abstract: We develop a general patch-use model of central place foraging, which subsumes and extends several previous models. The model produces a catalog of central place effects predicting how distance from a central place influences the costs and benefits of foraging, load-size, quitting harvest rates, and giving-up densities. In the model, we separate between costs that are load-size dependent, i.e. a direct effect of the size of the load, and load-size independent effects, such as correlations between distance and patch qualities. We also distinguish between predictions of between- and within-environment comparisons. Foraging costs, giving-up densities and quitting harvest rates should almost always increase with distance with these effects amplified by increases in metabolic costs, predation risk and load-costs. With respect to load-size: when comparing foraging in patches within an environment, we should often expect smaller loads to be taken from distant patches (negative distance–load correlation). However, when comparing between environments, there should be a positive correlation between average distance and load-size.

Keywords: Foraging theory; Patch use; GUD; Optimality; Central place foraging; Predation cost of foraging; Habitat selection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:thpobi:v:74:y:2008:i:1:p:22-33

DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2008.04.005

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