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The balancing act of foraging: mammalian herbivores trade-off multiple risks when selecting food patches

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Abstract

Animals face multiple risks while foraging such as the risk of acquiring inadequate energy from food and the risk of predation. We evaluated how two sympatric rabbits (pygmy rabbits, Brachylagus idahoensis, and mountain cottontail rabbits, Sylvilagus nuttallii) that differ in size, use of burrows, and habitat specialization in the sagebrush-steppe of western North America respond to different types and levels of perceived risks (i.e., fitness cost × probability of occurrence), including fiber and toxins in food, exposure to predation, and distance from a refuge. We measured food intake by the rabbits at paired food patches that varied in these risks and used the method of paired comparisons to create a relative ranking of habitat cues, which revealed an animal’s perceived risk on a single scale representing an integrated response to a variety of risks. Pygmy rabbits perceived exposure to predation risk and distance from a burrow as riskier than did cottontails, whereas cottontails perceived dietary toxin as riskier. Pygmy rabbits consumed lower quality food, containing higher fiber or toxins, thereby avoided feeding in exposed patches or traveling far from their burrow to forage. In contrast, cottontails fed in exposed patches and traveled farther from the burrow to obtain higher quality food. We have shown how risks can be integrated into a single model that allows animals to reveal their perceptions of risks on a single scale that can be used to create a spatially explicit landscape of risk.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the undergraduate volunteers and researchers at Washington State University who cared for animals and collected data. J. Fluegel provided valuable assistance in creating experimental patches and arenas, and R. Camp (EcoLogical Research) assisted in creating figures. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF; DEB-1146368, L.A. Shipley; DEB-1146166, J.L. Rachlow; DEB-1146194, J.S. Forbey), and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA; Hatch Project 1005876, L.A. Shipley).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, USA

    M. J. Camp, L. A. Shipley, P. J. Olsoy & D. H. Thornton

  2. Department of Statistical Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, USA

    T. R. Johnson

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, USA

    J. S. Forbey

  4. Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, USA

    J. L. Rachlow

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  1. M. J. Camp
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  2. L. A. Shipley
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  3. T. R. Johnson
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  4. P. J. Olsoy
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  5. J. S. Forbey
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  6. J. L. Rachlow
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  7. D. H. Thornton
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Contributions

MJC and LAS conceived and designed the experiments, MJC performed the experiments. MJC, LAS, TRJ, PJO analyzed the data. MJC and LAS wrote the manuscript; other authors provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to M. J. Camp.

Additional information

Communicated by Peter Banks.

This study uses a novel approach to evaluating animals’ perceptions of risk. Here, we have integrated multiple types of risks into one risk value that could be used to predict habitat preference.

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Camp, M.J., Shipley, L.A., Johnson, T.R. et al. The balancing act of foraging: mammalian herbivores trade-off multiple risks when selecting food patches. Oecologia 185, 537–549 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-017-3957-6

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