Foraging behavior of a vertebrate omnivore (Rattus Rattus): meal structure, sampling, and diet breadth

Author:

Clark, Deborah A.

Title:

Foraging behavior of a vertebrate omnivore (Rattus Rattus): meal structure, sampling, and diet breadth

Periodical:

Ecology

Year:

1982

Volume:

63

Pages:

763-772

Subject:

Foraging behavior Galapagos Nutrition Rats Rattus rattus

Summary:

The ability to obtain nutrients and energy is a key factor that affects the fitness of animals. While many descriptive studies had been done with regard to the food habitats of animals, the critical analysis of foraging behavior in wild populations of animals were far more recent. As a result, the purpose of this paper was to examine the patterns underlying the diet selection in the wild by the black rat, (Rattus rattus). The aspects of foraging behavior through an analysis of diet selection by the wild populations of this omnivorous generalist feeder, was addressed. In this study, the patterns of meal composition, sampling, and diet bredth were examined by a detailed analysis of stomach contents of black rat individuals from seven wild populations in the Galapagos Islands.

Label:

Animals

URL:

http://cletus.uhh.hawaii.edu:2074/10.2307/1936797

Date:

June 1982

Collection:

Periodicals