Behavioral Ecology
Central Place Foraging
A foraging strategy where animals return repeatedly to a central location (nest, burrow, or colony) with food, rather than consuming it where found. This creates trade-offs between travel costs and patch quality.
Biological Context
Bees returning to hives, birds feeding nestlings, and squirrels caching nuts all exhibit central place foraging. The optimal strategy depends on distance to food patches, patch quality, and the cost of travel. Foragers must decide when a patch is depleted enough to justify the trip to a new one.
Business Application
Companies with central operations (headquarters, warehouses, service centers) face central place foraging trade-offs. Sales territories, delivery routes, and service areas all involve optimizing around a central base.