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Optimal Foraging Theory Perspectives on the Strategies of Itinerant Beekeepers in Semiarid Northeast Brazil

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Abstract

Foraging theory has been widely used to understand patterns associated with obtaining resources and the optimal cost-benefit relationship between forager and resource. However, many analytical theoretical models do not consider the influence of social groups on forager strategy. We analyzed strategies for obtaining resources from two perspectives: individual and social. For the first, we tested hypotheses that addressed whether individual strategies followed the predictions of classic models of foraging theory. In the second approach, we investigated potential social influences on resource-obtaining strategies. Our results suggest that regardless of the strategy adopted by the forager (specialist or generalist), environmental factors, such as abundance, regulated success in obtaining resources. However, we observed that specialists had a greater advantage relative to generalists when resources were abundant. We also observed that forager decision-making was related to the social context of the individual forager, which influenced their strategies.

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  1. That is, the first participant identifies other potential participants, who in turn identify further participants until no new identifications emerge.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Rural Federal University of Pernambuco and the Graduate Program in Ethnobiology and Nature Conservation for the institutional support for the development of this research; the funding institution Foundation for Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco (Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco – FACEPE) for the scholarship assigned to the first author; the Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Social-ecological Systems (LEA) and Reproductive Ecology Laboratory Flowering Plants (LERA), both based in the UFRPE, for their support at all stages of the study; ICMBio for the necessary authorization for this study in the Environmental Protection Area of ​​Araripe (Araripe-EPA); and the itinerant beekeepers from the communities studied and managers of the Moreilândia Association of Beekeepers (APIM) for the logistical support, responsiveness and shared knowledge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, Rural Federal University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, Pernambuco, 52171-900, Brazil

    Andrêsa Suana Argemiro Alves, André Luiz Borba do Nascimento & Ulysses Albuquerque

  2. Rural Federal University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Garanhuns Academic Unit, Avenida Dr. Bom Pastor, s/n, Boa Vista, Garanhuns, Pernambuco, 55292-270, Brazil

    Cibele Cardoso de Castro

Authors
  1. Andrêsa Suana Argemiro Alves
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  2. André Luiz Borba do Nascimento
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  3. Ulysses Albuquerque
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  4. Cibele Cardoso de Castro
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Correspondence to Ulysses Albuquerque.

Ethics declarations

For our initial research, authorization was requested from the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) in accordance with Resolution no. 466/2012 of the National Health Council. With this authorization, to meet the requirements of the resolution, the research objectives were explained to the beekeepers involved in the study before they signed an Informed Consent (IC) to authorize the use of forms and allow interviews. Because the study region is within an Environmental Protection Area (Araripe-EPA), authorization for the survey was obtained from the ICMBio through the Authorization and Information on Biodiversity System (SISBIO) under no. 38021–1.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Alves, A.S.A., do Nascimento, A.L.B., Albuquerque, U. et al. Optimal Foraging Theory Perspectives on the Strategies of Itinerant Beekeepers in Semiarid Northeast Brazil. Hum Ecol 45, 345–355 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9909-2

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