Foraging Behavior

1 Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Departments of Psychology and Zoology, Oklahoma State University, 215 N. Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA 2 Uludag Universitesi, M. Kemalpasa MYO, M. Kemalpasa, Bursa 16500, Turkey 3 Northwestern ...

The relationship between food flavors and postingestive feedback enables mammalian herbivores to procure nutrients and avoid toxins within ever-changing environments. We conducted four experiments with red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) in captivity to determine the relative roles of color and flavor cues paired with negative postingestive feedback. We first conducted baseline tests to assess preferences for colors and flavors. All blackbirds preferred red- to blue-colored food, and they preferred umami- (l-alanine) flavored to bitter/astringent food (tannic acid). We observed no difference in consumption of salty (NaCl) vs sour (citric acid) foods during baseline tests (i.e., neutral flavors). We then conditioned experimentally naïve blackbirds with intraperitoneal injections of lithium chloride (LiCl) to avoid food treated with red and l-alanine, or red and NaCl (n=30 birds per conditioning group). Subsequent to conditioning with LiCl, three test groups were established f...

Reconstructions of foraging behavior and diet are central to our understanding of fossil hominin ecology and evolution. Current hypotheses for the evolution of the genus Homo invoke a change in foraging behavior to include higher quality foods. Recent microwear texture analyses of fossil hominin teeth have suggested that the evolution of Homo erectus may have been marked by a transition to a more variable diet. In this study, we used microwear texture analysis to examine the occlusal surface of 2 molars from Dmanisi, a 1.8 million year old fossil hominin site in the Republic of Georgia. The Dmanisi molars were characterized by a moderate degree of surface complexity (Asfc), low textural fill volume (Tfv), and a relatively low scale of maximum complexity (Smc), similar to specimens of early African H. erectus. While caution must be used in drawing conclusions from this small sample (n = 2), these results are consistent with continuity in diet as H. erectus expanded into Eurasia.

In Experiment 1 each response on a switch delivered food to a cup, with the distance between the switch and the cup varied across conditions. The number of responses made before traveling to collect and eat the food increased with distance for rats, but not for pigeons. In Experiment 2, two switches were at different distances from a fixed food source; both pigeons and rats preferentially used the switch closest to the food source. In Experiment 3 each response on the left key increased the upcoming hopper duration by 0.5, 1.5 or 2.5 s. Completing a ratio requirement on the right key of 1, 4, 8, 16 or 32 responses then produced the food hopper for a duration that depended on the number of prior left pecks. As the ratio requirement increased on the right key, pigeons responded more on the left key and earned more food. Rats, it is concluded, have episodic foresight, whereas pigeons are not so good at forethought.

Bees need pollen for their maintenance and development. Maize tassels (Zea mays L.) produce large amounts of pollen, which are visited by several bee species. This experiment was conducted in Raj Mohini Devi College of Agriculture and Research station, Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh) in 2020 with the objective to evaluate the factors affecting the foraging behavior of bees in maize.

Periodic episodes of food scarcity may highlight the adaptive value of certain anatomical traits, particularly those that facilitate the acquisition and digestion of exigent fallback foods. To better understand the selective pressures that favored the distinctive dental and locomotor morphologies of gibbons and orangutans, we examined the foraging and ranging behavior of sympatric Hylobates albibarbis and Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii during an episode of low fruit availability at Tuanan, Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia. We found that Hylobates ranged 0.5 km day−1 or 33% farther than did Pongo, but the overall daily ranging of both species did not vary as fruit availability decreased by as much as 50%. Among gibbons, we observed dietary switching to fallback foods; in particular, there was a progressively greater reliance on figs, liana products, and unripe fruit. Orangutans relied heavily on unripe fruit and fracture-resistant bark and pith tissues. Despite these divergent fallback patterns, the stiffness of fruit mesocarp consumed by Hylobates and Pongo did not differ. We discuss canine and molar functional morphology with respect to dietary mechanics. Next, to contextualize these results, we discuss our findings with respect to forest structure. The rain forests of Southeast Asia have been described as having open, discontinuous canopies. Such a structure may inform our understanding of the ranging behavior and distinctive locomotion of apes in the region, namely richochetal brachiation and quadrumanous clambering. Our approach of integrating behavioral ecology with physical measures of food may be a powerful tool for understanding the functional adaptations of primates. Am J Phys Anthropol 140:716–726, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Subterranean termites have highly cryptic life habits and their foraging activities are as a rule confined to below-ground level gallery systems. Mark–release–recapture (MRR) using fat-soluble histological dyes is a candidate method for the study of foraging dynamics and territories, but has not hitherto been standardized experimentally. A wide range of dye types and concentrations is reported in the literature. In this study, six potential dyes were evaluated at different concentrations for marking workers of Reticulitermes grassei (Clément) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), under laboratory and simulated field conditions. Neutral red (1% wt/wt) was considered the most effective while showing acceptably low toxicity. In a subsequent field trial using dye impregnated into a wooden bait, the MMR procedure was used to map the foraging territory perimeter of a single colony. Assumptions inherent in the interpretation of MMR data are reviewed. To map the foraging territory perimeter by this method, two theoretical approaches are defined (a conservative and a non-conservative hypothesis). We show that the approach adopted may affect the estimate obtained by as much as 100%. Results are discussed in the context of the ecology and behaviour of subterranean termite colonies.

Nectar robbers are birds, insects, or other flower visitors that remove nectar from flowers through a hole pierced or bitten in the corolla. This paper is a review of the effects of nectar robbers on pollinators, pollination, and fitness of the plants they rob. Charles Darwin assumed that nectar robbers had a negative impact on the plants that they visit, but research done in the last 50 years indicates that they often have a beneficial or neutral effect. Several studies document that robbers frequently pollinate the plants that they visit. Robbers may ...

Hyperactivity in anorexia nervosa is difficult to control and negatively impacts outcome. Hyperactivity is a key driving force to starvation in an animal model named activity-based anorexia (ABA). Recent research has started unraveling what mechanisms underlie this hyperactivity. Besides a general increase in locomotor activity that may be an expression of foraging behavior and involves frontal brain regions, the increased locomotor activity expressed before food is presented (food anticipatory behavior or FAA) involves hypothalamic neural circuits. Ghrelin plays a role in FAA, whereas decreased leptin signaling is involved in both aspects of increased locomotor activity. We hypothesize that increased ghrelin and decreased leptin signaling drive the activity of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. In anorexia nervosa patients, this altered activity of the dopamine system may be involved not only in hyperactivity but also in aberrant cognitive processing related to food.

Elephants (Loxodonta africana) exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism, and in this study we test the prediction that the differences in body size and sociality are significant enough to drive divergent foraging strategies and ultimately sexual segregation. Body size influences the foraging behaviour of herbivores through the differential scaling coefficients of metabolism and gut size, with larger bodied individuals being able to tolerate greater quantities of low-quality, fibrous vegetation, whilst having lower mass-specific energy requirements. We test two distinct theories: the scramble competition hypothesis (SCH) and the forage selection hypothesis (FSH). Comprehensive behavioural data were collected from the Pongola Game Reserve and the Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa over a 2.5-year period. The data were analysed using sex as the independent variable. Adult females targeted a wider range of species, adopted a more selective foraging approach and exhibited greater bite rates as predicted by the body size hypothesis and the increased demands of reproductive investment (lactation and pregnancy). Males had longer feeding bouts, displayed significantly more destructive behaviour (31% of observations, 11% for females) and ingested greater quantities of forage during each feeding bout. The independent ranging behaviour of adult males enables them to have longer foraging bouts as they experience fewer social constraints than females. The SCH was rejected as a cause of sexual segregation due to the relative abundance of low quality forage, and the fact that feeding heights were similar for both males and females. However, we conclude that the differences in the foraging strategies of the sexes are sufficient to cause spatial segregation as postulated by the FSH. Sexual dimorphism and the associated behavioural differences have important implications for the management and conservation of elephant and other dimorphic species, with the sexes effectively acting as distinct “ecological species”.

Most herbivores are facultative generalists and include a variety of plant species and plant parts in their diet that vary in nutrient content. To counter herbivory, many plants produce secondary metabolites (PSMs) that can act as toxins or digestibility reducers. When choosing a food item, herbivores therefore face a trade-off between the nutritional benefits and the physiological and behavioural costs, or effort invested, in dealing with these anti-herbivore plant traits. PSMs also vary within a backdrop of primary plant constituents, including nutrients. This variation means that animals have the potential to choose amongst a wide array of combinations of plant primary and secondary chemistry.  Furthermore, because PSMs can interact biochemically with nutrients and with each other in the gut of herbivores, the choices that herbivores make when deciding what to eat are likely to be both complex and diverse.
The details of how PSMs and nutrients shape the behavioural foraging strategies of herbivores have been widely studied in captive animals with the focus almost always on individual components of diet and diet choice. In contrast, this thesis takes a wide and inclusive approach towards understanding the foraging behaviours of free-ranging mammalian browsers using the Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) as a model. To achieve this, my research has four main goals: 1) to assess the importance of vegetation structure and composition in the foraging decisions of herbivores; 2) to determine whether volatile PSMs can have multiple functions in the foraging of free ranging herbivores; 3) to define how the chemical composition of food sources can alter the foraging decisions of free ranging herbivores; and 4) to elucidate if the availability of choice can affect the capacity of herbivores to deal with plant toxins.
In order to achieve these goals I used the Giving-up Density (GUD) methodological framework throughout my thesis. This is a framework for field studies that imposes an exponentially increasing harvesting cost as food is consumed at patches. The GUD framework has a series of advantages and disadvantages that became obvious during my research. Therefore, I decided to dedicate my last chapter (5) to the review and discussion of the methodology, and the construction of a comprehensive guide showing practical approaches that can be used to tackle any problems with this methodology.
For my first aim, I compared GUDs left by swamp wallabies with the vegetation characteristics (Cover, richness and diversity) of the area surrounding each feeding station. I found some support to the importance of plant community compositions in influencing the foraging decisions of this mammalian herbivore, and no evidence of structural characteristics playing any role in this process.
For my second aim, I compared the foraging response of brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and the swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) to the volatile terpene 1, 8-cineole, as a potential odour cue and a dietary toxin. I use feeding stations with food and an inedible matrix that varied in content of a volatile terpene, 1, 8-cineole. Cineole in the matrix worked as a masking odour for wallabies but not for possums, suggesting that odour may be an important foraging cue only for wallabies, and the differences between the species can be explained by the ecological niche and diet of each species. I suggested that plant volatiles can be used by herbivores as a cue that allows them to select particular plants or plants parts from a patch.
For my third aim, I tested the foraging response of free-ranging swamp wallabies to artificial foods that varied in the PSM 1, 8-cineole; primary constituents (including nitrogen and fibre); and a factorial combination of both. Swamp wallabies show an increasing GUD with higher cineole level in food, and with higher nutrient level wallabies lowered their GUD. I demonstrated that nutrients and cineole impart an interactive effect on GUD, and high nutrient food required substantially more cineole to achieve the same GUD as low nutrient food. Therefore, nutrient-rich plants may face the exacerbated problem of not only being preferred by herbivores, but of needing to produce comparatively more defence compounds to achieve the same level of protection as low nutrient plants.
For my final experimental aim, I investigated the effect of choice in the overcoming of the toxic effects of a PSM, 1, 8-cineole. I tested dietary regimens at two different concentrations of cineole. To do this, I offered swamp wallabies a choice between (i) a high protein diet (HP) and a high carbohydrates (HC) diet; (ii) a no-choice preferred diet formulated to reflect the mixture of protein and carbohydrate selected when animals had access to both HP and HC foods; and (iii) a ‘no-choice basal’ (food with no added protein or carbohydrates). Higher cineole caused an increase in GUD, however, HP:HC ratio did not change with cineole treatment. I argue that this may be a consequence of swamp wallabies relying on foraging cues, such as flavours or odours, to assess food quality, which may have been negated due to the method use to prepare these diets.
Finally, in my review of the literature of the current uses of the Giving-p Density framework (GUD), I outline the theoretical and practical benefits of the methods as well as seven issues that need consideration when applying this methodology. I suggested that the incorporation of complementary methods (such as cameras) to better understand the foraging processes involved in the GUD itself, concluding that these methods can potentially offer novel and important insights into the study of foraging behaviour.
Through the evidence I have collected, it is clear that when herbivores decide where to forage, the processes influencing these decisions are more complex than the simple additive effects of individual plant characteristics or their distribution in the landscape. By not relying on limited offers of different plants or food type, as captive trials often do, I have included the variability characteristic of naturals systems, and yet demonstrated that the influence of plant chemistry on foraging is robust. I think the approach I took has been insightful on the subject of herbivore foraging, and has offered good support to our growing understanding on this area of ecology. It is important to continue testing these hypotheses in the complex background offered in nature.

Stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function. Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom or stress and are typically treated by enriching captivity with distracting, appealing stimuli. These stimuli often include food presented at times other than regular feedings, and as a result, engage species-typical foraging behaviors that reduce stereotypies. The present work on captive polar bears is based on the view that stereotypies are due in part to inadequate support for the expression of species-typical foraging "loops" and can be reduced by increasing support for a more complete expression of foraging responses. We tested this view through 4 experiments that presented small samples of food and scents on several schedules, examining their effects prior to, during, and after the schedule. Most schedules reduced stereotypies and increased general activity prior to and during the schedule. These data support three conclusions: (1) individual stereotypies appear related to incomplete, repeating loops of foraging behavior; (2) providing stimuli supporting a more complete sequence of search behaviors reduces stereotypies and increases non-stereotypic activity; and (3) a descriptive, analytic approach based on how foraging behaviors relate to the captive feeding procedures can facilitate understanding of stereotypies and suggest methods to reduce them.

ABSTRAK
Kucing mulai dijadikan peliharaan sejak zaman mesir kuno. Pakan favorit kucing secara umum adalah ikan. Kucing peliharaaan umumnya dimanjakan dengan makanan matang dan cepat saji. Untuk dapat memakan makanan mentah yang tidak biasa dimakannya, kucing peliharaan membutuhkan proses adaptasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberian ikan mentah terhadap perilaku kucing peliharaan. Penelitian dilakukan selama sembilan hari. Responden penelitian adalah tiga ekor kucing sebagai kucing sampel dan seekor kucing sebagai kucing kontrol. Pola perilaku kucing diperoleh melalui metode observasi disertai empat kali pengulangan untuk setiap perlakuan. Pemberian makan terdiri dari lima kombinasi perbandingan komposisi ikan matang (Ma) dan ikan mentah (Me) yaitu, 100% Ma- 0% Me, 75% Ma- 25% Me, 50% Ma- 50% Me, 25% Ma – 75% Me, 0% Ma – 100% Me. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa secara umum kucing sampel menunjukan perilaku yang sebagian besar sama dengan kucing kontrol. Tetapi, seekor kucing sampel menunjukan perilaku berbeda berupa menyisakan makanannya dan pada satu waktu disusul dengan buang air kecil di atas sisa makanan. Seekor kucing sampel lain menderita diare yang dapat diasumsikan sebagai reaksi fisiologi kucing terhadap ikan mentah. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa pemberian ikan mentah berpengaruh terhadap perilaku kucing peliharaan.
Kata Kunci : Kucing peliharaan, ikan mentah, perilaku

Social immunity, which describes how individual behaviors of group members effectively reduce disease and parasite transmission at the colony level, is an emerging field in social insect biology. An understudied, but significant behavioral disease resistance mechanism in honey bees is their collection and use of plant resins. Honey bees harvest resins with antimicrobial properties from various plant species and bring them back to the colony where they are then mixed with varying amounts of wax and utilized as propolis. Propolis is an apicultural term for the resins when used by bees within a hive. While numerous studies have investigated the chemical components of propolis that could be used to treat human diseases, there is a lack of information on the importance of propolis in regards to bee health. This review serves to provide a compilation of recent research concerning the behavior of bees in relation to resins and propolis, focusing more on the bees themselves and the potential evolutionary benefits of resin collection. Future research goals are also established in order to create a new focus within the literature on the natural history of resin use among the social insects and role that propolis plays in disease resistance. Die „soziale Immunität“ als neues Forschungsfeld bei sozialen Insekten beschreibt, wie das individuelle Verhalten von Mitgliedern einer Gruppe wirkungsvoll die Verbreitung von Krankheiten und Parasiten auf der Ebene des Sozialstaates verhindern kann. Ein bisher zwar wenig untersuchtes aber wichtiges Verhaltensmerkmal zur Krankheitsabwehr bei Honigbienen ist die Verwendung von Pflanzenharzen. Honigbienen sammeln Harze mit antimikrobiellen Eigenschaften von verschiedenen Pflanzen, mischen diese dann im Bienenvolk mit unterschiedlichen Mengen von Wachs und benutzen dies als Propolis (Abb. 1–4). Propolis ist demnach der bienenkundliche Begriff für Harze, die im Bienenstock verwendet werden. Während es zahlreiche Untersuchungen zur Verwendung bestimmter Bestandteile des Propolis zur Krankheitsbekämpfung beim Menschen gibt, sind kaum Informationen über die Bedeutung von Propolis für die Bienengesundheit vorhanden. Dieses Review ist eine Zusammenstellung neuerer Forschungsergebnisse zum Verhalten der Bienen in Bezug auf Harze und Propolis mit dem Schwerpunkt auf die möglichen evolutiven Vorteile des Harzsammelns für die Honigbienen. Die Verwendung von Harzen durch Bienenvölker (Apis mellifera) ist weit verbreitet. Während es erhebliche Unterschiede zwischen einzelnen Völkern bzgl. der Menge an gesammelten Harzen und Propolis gibt, scheinen alle — und dabei insbesondere die wildlebenden — Bienenvölker das Propolis zur Auskleidung des gesamten Stockinneren zu benutzen. Es wird angenommen, dass Propolis dazu beiträgt, die Homöostase innerhalb des Bienenstockes aufrecht zu erhalten. Konkret könnte das Propolis dabei das mikrobielle Wachstum an den Beutenwänden reduzieren, unkontrollierten Luftzug ins Beuteninnere verhindern und zusätzlich mechanische Barrieren gegenüber Eindringlingen bilden. Einige Forschungsprojekte zeigen eindeutig, dass Propolis im Bienenstock direkt gegenüber Krankheitserregern (z.B. Amerikanische Faulbrut) und Parasiten (z.B. Kleiner Beutenkäfer, Varroa destructor) wirkt. Daneben scheint es aber auch eine subtilere Wirkung über die Unterstützung des individuellen Immunsystems zu geben. Die weiteren Forschungen sollten sich auf das bessere Verständnis der Verwendung von Harzen durch Honigbienen und andere soziale Insekten konzentrieren. Dafür gibt es eine Vielzahl an Forschungsfeldern, von den pharmazeutischen Möglichkeiten des Propolis für die menschliche Gesundheit über die Mechanismen der Sammelstrategie von Propolis auf den Ebenen der Einzelbienen und des Bienenvolkes bis hin zu einer möglichen Anwendung von Propolis als Bekämpfung von Bienenkrankheiten. Schließlich ermöglichen Informationen zur Verwendung von Harzen und deren Aufnahme in den Bienenstock spannende Forschungsansätze zum Einfluss der Umwelt auf Krankheitsresistenz und soziale Immunität.