The behavioral ecology of provisioning in birds
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| Authors: | Ydenberg, RC |
| Year: | 1994 |
| Journal: | Ecoscience 1: 1-14 |
| Title: | The behavioral ecology of provisioning in birds |
| Abstract: | In this review, I outline the idea of provisioning, stressing the difference between self-feeding and delivery. Foraging studies have just begun to recognize this distinction, and to explore some of its implications for behavior. I outline a basic model of provisioning, based on central place foraging, in which the forager must spend some extra time on each excursion to gather enough energy to cover the excursion's energetic costs. I describe studies of provisioning pertinent to this framework, consider risk-sensitive provisioning, and use the ideas to develop a model that explores the previously-unasked question of when provisioners should deliver whole prey, and when they should deliver processed prey (e.g. the stomach oil of some procellariforms). I also discuss the role of predation danger in provisioning, its implications for parent-offspring conflict, and conclude by considering the question of how hard provisioners should work. |
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