Behavioral Ecology
9 definitions in this category
Central Place Foraging A foraging strategy where animals return repeatedly to a central location (nest, burrow, or colony) with food, rather th... Cheater Detection Mechanisms that identify individuals who benefit from cooperation without contributing their fair share. Essential for m... Coalition A temporary alliance between individuals who cooperate to achieve goals they couldn't accomplish alone. Coalitions form,... Lévy Flight A random walk pattern characterized by many short moves interspersed with occasional long jumps. The step lengths follow... Marginal Value Theorem A mathematical model predicting when a forager should leave a depleting resource patch. The optimal strategy is to leave... Net Energy Gain The difference between energy acquired from food and energy expended to obtain it. Net energy gain = energy intake − (se... Optimal Foraging Theory A framework for predicting foraging behavior based on the assumption that natural selection favors strategies that maxim... Prosocial Behavior that benefits others or society as a whole, often at some cost to the individual. Includes cooperation, helping... Risk-Sensitive Foraging Foraging behavior that accounts for variance in resource availability, not just average returns. Risk-averse foragers pr...