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© 1995 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

research-article

Energetic constraints and foraging efficiency

Alasdair I. Houston

School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK

ABSTRACT

Previous research considers foraging options that differ in terms of their gross rate of gain b and rate of energy expenditure c. This research argues that maximizing efficiency b/c will maximize net energetic gain when there is an upper limit on the amount of energy that can be assimilated. This analysis does not include the expenditure during the time for which the animal is unable to forage because of this constraint. When this expenditure is included, maximizing efficiency is no longer optimal. Instead the best feeding option is the one with the highest value of b/(c – c1), where c, is the metabolic rate when the animal is not foraging.

Key words: efficiency, energetic constraint, foraging. [Behav Ecol 6:393–396 (1995)].


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