Foraging as Operant Behavior and Operant Behavior as Foraging: What Have We Learned?

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the way psychology can supply mechanistic analyses of foraging and examines the role of particular behavioral mechanisms in particular aspects of foraging. New foraging models have been developed, and psychological data and theory are integral to test models dealing with risk and information. Standard models of prey and patch choice have been refined to take into account constraints on a forager such as imperfect counting, timing, and discrimination. At the same time, new theory and data on timing and choice have encouraged the analysis of foraging behavior at a finer level of detail. The analysis of any specific foraging problem leaves a number of unanswered questions. Apparently, conflicting functional and mechanistic predictions have been tested in the areas of sampling behavior, response to time horizon, and the effects of energy budget on response to risk. A standard model of diet selection prescribes rejecting an unprofitable prey item whenever a forager cannot expect to finish handling it before the next profitable item arrives.