Modeling scan and interscan durations in antipredator vigilance
Authored by G Beauchamp, G D Ruxton
Date Published: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.11.015
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Platforms:
FreeBasic
Model Documentation:
ODD
Flow charts
Model Code URLs:
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Abstract
Many prey species alternate between bouts of foraging and bouts of
antipredator vigilance. Models of vigilance typically predict how much
total time prey animals should allocate to vigilance but do not specify
how that time should be scheduled throughout foraging. Here, we examine
how the scheduling of vigilance pays off in terms of food intake and
predator detection. Specifically, we study how changes in ecological
factors affect the expected duration of scans to look out for predators
and the duration of interscan intervals dedicated to foraging. Our
framework includes factors like the risk of attack, how difficult it is
to locate food and predators, and the distance to protective cover. Our
individual-based model makes several predictions about scan and
interscan durations, which are discussed in relation to the available
empirical evidence in birds and mammals. This model of antipredator
vigilance is a first step in incorporating constraints related to food
gathering and the detection of predators. Adding such constraints adds a
novel dimension to vigilance models and produces a variety of
predictions that await empirical scrutiny. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All
rights reserved.
Tags
Predation risk
Trade-off
Group-size
Sparrows passer-domesticus
Protective cover
Ground-squirrels
Parus-caeruleus
Feeding method
Handling time
Anas-crecca