Dispersed Versus Central-Place Foraging: Intra- and Intercolonial Competition in the Strategy of Trunk Trail Arrangement of a Harvester Ant

1995 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Acosta ◽  
Francisco Lopez ◽  
Jose M. Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Central Place Foraging ◽  
Harvester Ant

Population and Community Consequences of Spatial Subsidies Derived from Central-Place Foraging

2007 ◽  
Vol 170 (6) ◽  
pp. 902
Author(s):  
Fagan ◽  
Frithjof Lutscher ◽  
Katie Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Central Place Foraging ◽  
Spatial Subsidies

Tree Swallow selection for wetlands in agricultural landscapes predicted by central-place foraging theory

The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S Elgin ◽  
Robert G Clark ◽  
Christy A Morrissey
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Foraging Theory ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Field Margins ◽  
Central Place Foraging ◽  
Prairie Pothole ◽  
Prairie Wetlands ◽  
Selection For

Abstract Millions of wetland basins, embedded in croplands and grasslands, are biodiversity hotspots in North America’s Prairie Pothole Region, but prairie wetlands continue to be degraded and drained, primarily for agricultural activities. Aerial insectivorous swallows are known to forage over water, but it is unclear whether swallows exhibit greater selection for wetlands relative to other habitats in croplands and grasslands. Central-place foraging theory suggests that habitat selectivity should increase with traveling distance from a central place, such that foragers compensate for traveling costs by selecting more profitable foraging habitat. Using global positioning system (GPS) tags, we evaluated habitat selection by female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at 4 sites containing wetlands and where terrestrial land cover was dominated by grasslands (grass, herbaceous cover) and/or cultivated cropland. We also used sweep-net transects to assess the abundance and biomass of flying insects in different habitats available to swallows (wetland pond margins, grassy field margins, and representative uplands). As expected for a central-place forager, GPS-tagged swallows selected more for wetland ponds (disproportionate to availability), and appeared to increasingly select for wetlands with increasing distance from their nests. On cropland-dominated sites, insect abundance and biomass tended to be higher in pond margins or grassy field margins compared to cropped uplands, while abundance and biomass were more uniform among sampled habitats at sites dominated by grass and herbaceous cover. Swallow habitat selection was not clearly explained by the distribution of sampled insects among habitats; however, traditional terrestrial sampling methods may not adequately reflect prey distribution and availability to aerially foraging swallows. Overall, our results underscore the importance of protecting and enhancing prairie wetlands and other non-crop habitats in agricultural landscapes, given their disproportionate use and capacity to support breeding swallow and insect populations.

scholarly journals Optimal central-place foraging by beavers: Tree-size selection in relation to defensive chemicals of quaking aspen

Oecologia ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Basey ◽  
Stephen H. Jenkins ◽  
Peter E. Busher
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Quaking Aspen ◽  
Central Place Foraging ◽  
Size Selection
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