title: Decision ecology: foraging and the ecology of animal decision making.
abstract: In this article, I review the approach taken by behavioral ecologists to the study of animal foraging behavior and explore connections with general analyses of decision making. I use the example of patch exploitation decisions in this article in order to develop several key points about the properties of naturally occurring foraging decisions. First, I argue that experimental preparations based on binary, mutually exclusive choice are not good models of foraging decisions. Instead, foraging choices have a sequential foreground-background structure, in which one option is in the background of all other options. Second, behavioral ecologists view foraging as a hierarchy of decisions that range from habitat selection to food choice. Finally, data suggest that foraging animals are sensitive to several important trade-offs. These trade-offs include the effects of competitors and group mates, as well as the problem of predator avoidance.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA. dws@umn.edu
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Stephens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003657:Decision Making; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005518:Food Preferences; D008954:Models, Biological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal