Central place foraging

Abstract

If a resource is an oviposition site, a nesting site, or a potential mate, an animal locating such a resource will most probably utilize it on the spot. Resources such as food or water, however, may be carried back to some fixed point such as a nest or a colony and consumed or stored there. Animals that carry resources back to a particular site are called central place foragers (CPFs), and they generally have a nest to which they bring resources. Central place foragers differ from the rest in that their activities include an outbound journey, a period of searching, and then a return journey. For example, birds carry food back to nestlings or capture prey while diving in the sea and carry it back to a terrestrial feeding site; bees transport nectar and pollen back to the hive.