Optimal Foraging in Nocturnal Granivores: An Examination of the Risks Associated with Substrate Produced Noise while Foraging

Abstract

In nature, animals will find an optimal balance between risks and benefits of foraging. This was investigated by examining the amount of seeds eaten by nocturnal granivores in two substrate types: noisy and quiet. We accomplished this by placing feeders in vegetative cover with a predetermined amount of seeds in them. We found no significant difference between the mean number of seeds eaten across the two substrate types. This led us to reject our hypothesis that foragers would favor the quiet substrate over the noisy one in an attempt to avoid predation.