9 results on '"Prey choice model"'
Search Results
2. The role of foxes in the Palaeolithic economies of the Swabian Jura (Germany)
- Author
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Baumann, Chris, Wong, Gillian L., Starkovich, Britt M., Münzel, Susanne C., and Conard, Nicholas J.
- Abstract
In this study, we examine the role of foxes in Palaeolithic economies, focusing on sites of the Middle Palaeolithic, Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura. For this purpose, we used published faunal data from 26 assemblages from the region, including new information from the Magdalenian layers of Langmahdhalde. We explore how the abundance of foxes changes over time, how they were used by humans, and how they were deposited at the sites, with a special focus on fox hunting methods. To evaluate these hunting methods, we use the prey choice model of optimal foraging theory (OFT) and simulate possible hunting scenarios, which we test based on the published faunal assemblages. Our research indicates that foxes were hunted since the early Upper Palaeolithic for their meat, fur and teeth, possibly with traps. We find that the abundance of fox remains in the archaeological record of the region increased continuously starting in the Aurignacian, which cannot be explained by taphonomic factors. The trend of foxes to adapt to human-influenced environments with commensal behavior may also have contributed to them being hunted more often. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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3. Size matters only sometimes: the energy-risk trade-offs of Holocene prey acquisition in the Bonneville basin, western USA.
- Author
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Lupo, Karen D., Schmitt, Dave N., and Madsen, David B.
- Abstract
This paper presents new zooarcheological data examining the relative abundances of artiodactyl and leporid remains from Holocene-aged sites in the Bonneville basin. Prior scholarship derived largely from sheltered sites suggests favorable climate conditions during the late Holocene increased foraging efficiency and supported a focus on hunting high-value artiodactyls. Using theoretical rationale from foraging theory and empirical data, we re-evaluate the trade-offs between the risk of hunting failure and energetic returns associated with the procurement artiodactyls and leporids, the two most common prey groups found in the regional zooarcheological record. The trade-offs between risk and energy show that while small in body size, leporids are a low risk, reliable food source rather than an inefficient resource targeted only when high-ranked prey are unavailable. We present faunal data from more than 80 open contexts in the Bonneville basin dating to the late Holocene that show a relatively stable exploitation strategy centered on leporids, especially hares (Lepus sp.). Additional data from open and sheltered sites in neighboring areas show a similar pattern. The prehistoric reliance on small game is consistent with divergent labor patterns observed in the ethnographic and historic records of the area. We advocate for the evaluation of the trade-offs between risk and energy of different sized prey within a regional context, and the use of zooarcheological data derived from a large number of sites and different site types to infer prey exploitation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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4. Big Game, Small Game: Why It Matters
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Jones, Emily Lena and Jones, Emily Lena
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- 2016
- Full Text
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5. Does optimal foraging theory explain the behavior of the oldest human cannibals?
- Author
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Rodríguez, Jesús, Guillermo, Zorrilla-Revilla, and Ana, Mateos
- Abstract
Cannibalism is an old and widespread human practice; however, the causes and meaning of consuming other humans are still hotly debated. Several explanations are possible for cannibalistic behavior, ranging from social and cultural motivations to purely nutritional causes. In this study, we analyze the oldest known case of cannibalism to date in the framework of the Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT). The fossil assemblage from the TD6.2 unit of the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain), dated to c. 0.9 Ma, includes the remains of several hominins (Homo antecessor) with unquestionable signs of cannibalism and a large collection of fossils of other mammals, also with evidence of human consumption. The Optimal Foraging Theory predicts that foragers confronted with a number of options aim to maximize their return rate, obtaining the maximum benefit with the minimum cost. We estimated the nutrient caloric return and the cost of acquisition of humans and other large mammals in TD6.2, and evaluated the rank of hominins among all the food resources harvested by H. antecessor using a Prey Choice Model (PreyCM). We also show that the abundance of the different prey types represented in the TD6.2 assemblage is proportional to the abundance of those resources in the environment, a prediction of the OFT. Although TD6.2 assemblage fits the predictions of the PreyCM, humans are overrepresented with respect to their estimated abundance in the environment. This overrepresentation of hominins was likely due to a higher encounter rate, as may be expected if the cannibalized individuals belonged to the same group as the foragers, although other explanations are possible. The results presented here show that hominins were a high-ranked prey type and, thus, their inclusion in the diet of H. antecessor is predicted by the OFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
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6. Modeling Incipient Use of Neolithic Cultigens by Taiwanese Foragers: Perspectives from Niche Variation Theory, the Prey Choice Model, and the Ideal Free Distribution
- Author
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Pei-Lin Yu
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,agricultural adoption ,Neolithic Taiwan ,Foraging ,Niche ,lcsh:GN281-289 ,01 natural sciences ,Predation ,lcsh:Stratigraphy ,Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) ,0601 history and archaeology ,aquatic-focused foraging ,Human behavioral ecology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,lcsh:QE640-699 ,Paleolithic Taiwan ,niche variation theory ,invasion theory ,prey choice model ,Ideal free distribution ,060102 archaeology ,Ecology ,Subsistence agriculture ,06 humanities and the arts ,Niche construction ,Geography ,Biological dispersal ,lcsh:Human evolution - Abstract
The earliest evidence for agriculture in Taiwan dates to about 6000 years BP and indicates that farmer-gardeners from Southeast China migrated across the Taiwan Strait. However, little is known about the adaptive interactions between Taiwanese foragers and Neolithic Chinese farmers during the transition. This paper considers theoretical expectations from human behavioral ecology based models and macroecological patterning from Binford’s hunter-gatherer database to scope the range of responses of native populations to invasive dispersal. Niche variation theory and invasion theory predict that the foraging niche breadths will narrow for native populations and morphologically similar dispersing populations. The encounter contingent prey choice model indicates that groups under resource depression from depleted high-ranked resources will increasingly take low-ranked resources upon encounter. The ideal free distribution with Allee effects categorizes settlement into highly ranked habitats selected on the basis of encounter rates with preferred prey, with niche construction potentially contributing to an upswing in some highly ranked prey species. In coastal plain habitats preferred by farming immigrants, interactions and competition either reduced encounter rates with high ranked prey or were offset by benefits to habitat from the creation of a mosaic of succession ecozones by cultivation. Aquatic-focused foragers were eventually constrained to broaden subsistence by increasing the harvest of low ranked resources, then mobility-compatible Neolithic cultigens were added as a niche-broadening tactic. In locations less suitable for farming, fishing and hunting continued as primary foraging tactics for centuries after Neolithic arrivals. The paper concludes with a set of evidence-based archaeological expectations derived from these models.
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- 2020
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7. Individual variation in prey choice in a predator–prey community
- Author
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Okuyama, Toshinori
- Subjects
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PREDATION , *ANIMAL behavior , *ANIMAL models in research , *EMPIRICAL research , *ECOLOGY of predatory animals , *BIOLOGICAL mathematical modeling , *MATHEMATICAL inequalities , *ANIMAL populations - Abstract
Abstract: One predator–two prey community models are studied with an emphasis on individual variation in predator behavior. The predator behaves according to a well-known prey choice model. The behavioral model predicts that predators should always attack the primary prey (more profitable prey of the two), but only attack the alternative prey (less profitable prey of the two) when the density of the primary prey is below a threshold density. The predator that accepts the alternative prey does not discriminate between the primary and alternative prey (all-or-nothing preference for the alternative prey). However, empirical studies do not result in clear all-or-nothing responses. Previous models examined the relaxation of the all-or-nothing response by assuming partial preference (e.g., predators preferentially forage on the primary prey even when they also attack the alternative prey). In this study, I consider individual variation in two predator traits (prey density perception and handling time) as the sources of the variation in the threshold density, which can make empirical data appear deviated from the expectation. I examine how community models with partial preference and individual variation differ in their dynamics and show that the differences can be substantial. For example, the dynamics of a model based on individual variation can be more stable (e.g., stable in a wider parameter region) than that of a model based on partial preference. As the general statistical property (Jensen’s inequality) is a main factor that causes the differences, the results of the study have general implications to the interpretation of models based on average per-capita rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
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- 2011
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8. On the evolution of diet and landscape during the Upper Paleolithic through Mesolithic at Franchthi Cave (Peloponnese, Greece)
- Author
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Stiner, Mary C. and Munro, Natalie D.
- Subjects
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DIET , *LANDSCAPES , *ZOOARCHAEOLOGY , *PALEOLITHIC Period , *MESOLITHIC Period , *TAPHONOMY ,FRANCHTHI Cave (Greece) - Abstract
Abstract: Franchthi Cave in southern Greece preserves one of the most remarkable records of socioeconomic change of the Late Pleistocene through early Holocene. Located on the southern end of the Argolid Peninsula, the area around the site was greatly affected by climate variation and marine transgression. This study examines the complex interplay of site formation processes (material deposition rates), climate-driven landscape change, and human hunting systems during the Upper Paleolithic through Mesolithic at Franchthi Cave based on the H1B faunal series. Building on earlier work, we establish the full spectrum of the meat diet using taphonomic evidence, and we analyze these data for trends in socioeconomic reorganization. Foraging patterns during the Aurignacian and “Gravettoid” occupations at Franchthi were terrestrial and already rather diversified in comparison to Middle Paleolithic diets in southern Greece. Hunting shifted abruptly to a mixed marine–terrestrial pattern during the Final Paleolithic, and fishing activities intensified though the Mesolithic. The zooarchaeological data indicate two consecutive trends of increasing dietary breadth, the first within an exclusively terrestrial context, and the second as marine habitats came into use through the end of the Mesolithic. The intensity of the human occupations at this site increased in tandem with intensified use of animal and plants. Comparison to the inland site of Klissoura Cave 1 indicates that the trend toward broader diets was regional as well as local. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
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- 2011
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9. Do pigeons (Columba livia) use information about the absence of food appropriately? A further look into suboptimal choice
- Author
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Armando Machado, Marco Vasconcelos, Inês Fortes, and Universidade do Minho
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Opportunity cost ,Time Factors ,Social Sciences ,Escape response ,Choice Behavior ,Mad news ,Stimulus (psychology) ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Animals ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology ,Reinforcement ,Columbidae ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Bad news ,Science & Technology ,Behavior, Animal ,05 social sciences ,Preference ,Rate of reinforcement ,Food ,Prey choice model ,Pigeons ,Psychology (miscellaneous) ,Decision process ,Psychology ,Suboptimal choice ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Psychomotor Performance ,Cognitive psychology - Abstract
In the natural environment, when an animal encounters a stimulus that signals the absence of food-a 'bad-news' stimulus-it will most likely redirect its search to another patch or prey. Because the animal does not pay the opportunity cost of waiting in the presence of a bad-news stimulus, the properties of the stimulus (e.g., its duration and probability) may have little impact in the evolution of the decision processes deployed in these circumstances. Hence, in the laboratory, when animals are forced to experience a bad-news stimulus they seem to ignore its duration, even though they pay the cost of waiting. Under certain circumstances, this insensitivity to the opportunity cost can lead to suboptimal preferences, such as a preference for an option yielding a low rather than a high rate of reinforcement. In 2 experiments, we tested Vasconcelos, Monteiro, and Kacelnik's (2015) assumption that, if given the opportunity, animals will escape the bad-news stimulus. To predict when an escape response should occur, we incorporated ideas from the prey choice model into Vasconcelos et al. (2015) model and made 2 novel predictions. Namely, both longer intertrial intervals and longer durations of signals predicting food or no food should lead to higher proportions of escape responses. The results of 2 experiments with pigeons supported these predictions., This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre, University of Minho, Portugal, and was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds cofinanced by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013). This work was also supported by FCT Grant PTDC/MHC-PCN/3540/2012 to Armando Machado. Ines Fortes was supported by FCT Doctoral Grant (SFRH/BD/77061/2011). We thank the members of the Animal Learning and Behavior Laboratory of University of Minho for their comments on a prior version of this paper., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
- Published
- 2017
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