Abstract
Variation in the spatial arrangement of plant tissue modifies the functional response of herbivores. In heterogeneous environments, this variation can occur at multiple spatial scales. We used likelihood-based approaches to examine the strength of evidence in data for models of herbivore functional response to spatial variation in plants. These models represented different hypotheses about plant characteristics controlling intake rate, including biomass, bite mass, plant density, and the composite effects of plant density and bite mass. Models were fit to observations of the food intake rate of elk (Cervus canadensis), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) feeding in plant patches where plant density and plant mass ranged over at least two orders of magnitude. The model representing composite effects of bite mass and plant density had more support in the data than any competing mod...
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