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COSTS AND BENEFITS OF POCKET GOPHER FORAGING: LINKING BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY
Author(s) -
Romañach Stephanie S.,
Seabloom Eric W.,
Reichman O. J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/06-1461.1
Subject(s) - digging , foraging , burrow , ecology , resource (disambiguation) , optimal foraging theory , abundance (ecology) , food delivery , biology , computer science , geography , computer network , archaeology , marketing , business
Animals can attain fitness benefits by maintaining a positive net energy balance, including costs of movement during resource acquisition and the profits from foraging. Subterranean rodent burrowing provides an excellent system in which to examine the effects of movement costs on foraging behavior because it is energetically expensive to excavate burrows. We used an individual‐based modeling approach to study pocket gopher foraging and its relationship to digging cost, food abundance, and food distribution. We used a unique combination of an individual‐based foraging‐behavior model and an energetic model to assess survival, body mass dynamics, and burrow configurations. Our model revealed that even the extreme cost of digging is not as costly as it appears when compared to metabolic costs. Concentrating digging in the area where food was found, or area‐restricted search (ARS), was the most energetically efficient digging strategy compared to a random strategy. Field data show that natural burrow configurations were more closely approximated by the animals we modeled using ARS compared to random diggers. By using behavior and simple physiological principles in our model, we were able to observe realistic body mass dynamics and recreate natural movement patterns.