Discriminating between possible foraging decisions using pattern-oriented modelling: The case of pink-footed geese in Mid-Norway during their spring migration
Authored by Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, Daniel Ayllon, Magda Chudzinska, Jesper Madsen
Date Published: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.10.005
Sponsors:
No sponsors listed
Platforms:
NetLogo
Model Documentation:
ODD
Flow charts
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Foraging decisions and their energetic consequences are critical to
capital Arctic-breeders migrating in steps, because there is only a
narrow time window with optimal foraging conditions at each step.
Optimal foraging theory predicts that such animals should spend more
time in patches that enable them to maximise the net rate of energy and
nutrient gain. The type of search strategy employed by animals is, however, expected to depend on the amount of information that is
involved in the search process. In highly dynamic landscapes, animals
are unlikely to have complete knowledge about the distribution of the
resources, which makes them unable to forage on the patches that enable
them to maximise their net energy intake. Random search may, however, be
a good strategy in landscapes where patches with profitable resources
are abundant. We present simulation experiments using an
individual-based model (IBM) to test which foraging decision rule (FDR)
best reproduces the population patterns observed in pink-footed geese
during spring staging in an agricultural landscape in Mid-Norway. Our
results suggested that while geese employed a random search strategy, they were also able to individually learn where the most profitable
patches were located and return to the patches that resulted in highest
energy intake. Such asocial learning is rarely reported for flock
animals. The modelled geese did not benefit from group foraging, which
contradicts the results reported by most studies on flocking birds.
Geese also did not possess complete knowledge about the profitability of
the available habitat. Most likely, there is no one single optimal
foraging strategy for capital breeders but such strategy is site and
species-specific. We discussed the potential use of the model as a
valuable tool for making future risk assessments of human disturbance
and changes in agricultural practices. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published
by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.orgilicenses/by/4.0/).
Tags
Individual-based model
Agent-based models
Sensitivity-analysis
Food-intake
Habitat-selection
White-fronted geese
Lesser
snow geese
Anser-brachyrhynchus
Brent geese
Heterogeneous environments