Searching Behaviour

This is a book about proximate mechanisms. Although some theoretical structure is used to introduce the subject, the intent is to offer a view of searching (or foraging) so as to balance the current emphasis of books on mathematical and functional models. The book includes examples which aim to provide a picture of the kind of animals used, the experimental set-up, the kinds of data yielded and how the data were analyzed. The book discusses the different methods animals have for scanning for resources such as vision, chemoreception, mechanoreception and olfaction and also how animals assess the suitability of potential habitats. The text considers both the internal and external factors that must be considered when animals are searching for new habitats, when foraging and when exploring. The final section of the book includes an explanation of how to analyze search tracks, including analysis of data and comparison of data sets and how to use and manipulate computers in the simulation of locomotory patterns in searching.