Adams D R, Gifford M E
Vilonia High School, 1164 Main St, Vilonia, AR 72173, USA.
Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave, Conway, AR 72035, USA.
Integr Org Biol. 2020 Aug 7;2(1):obaa022. doi: 10.1093/iob/obaa022. eCollection 2020.
Movement is an important component of animal behavior and determines how an organism interacts with its environment. The speed at which an animal moves through its environment can be constrained by internal (e.g., physiological state) and external factors (e.g., habitat complexity). When foraging, animals should move at speeds that maximize prey capture while minimizing mistakes (i.e., missing prey, slipping). We used experimental arenas containing obstacles spaced in different arrays to test how variation in habitat complexity influenced attack distance, prey capture speed, and foraging success in the Prairie Lizard. Obstacles spaced uniformly across arenas resulted in 15% slower prey capture speed and 30-38% shorter attack distance compared to arenas with no obstacles or with obstacles clustered in opposite corners of the arena. Prey capture probability was not influenced by arena type or capture speed, but declined with increasing attack distance. Similarly, the probability of prey consumption declined with attack distance across arena types. However, prey consumption probability declined with increasing prey capture speed in more open arenas but not in the cluttered arena. Foraging accuracy declined with increasing speed in more open arenas, and remained relatively constant when obstacles were in closer proximity. Foraging success was primarily constrained by intrinsic properties (speed-maneuverability tradeoff) when ample space was available, but environmental conditions had a greater impact on foraging success in "cluttered" habitats. This empirical test of theoretical predictions about optimal movement speeds in animals provides a step forward in understanding how animals select speeds in nature.
运动是动物行为的一个重要组成部分，它决定了生物体与环境的相互作用方式。动物在其环境中移动的速度可能受到内部因素（如生理状态）和外部因素（如栖息地复杂性）的限制。觅食时，动物应以能在将失误（即错过猎物、滑倒）降至最低的同时最大化猎物捕获量的速度移动。我们使用了包含以不同阵列排列障碍物的实验场地，来测试栖息地复杂性的变化如何影响草原蜥蜴的攻击距离、猎物捕获速度和觅食成功率。与没有障碍物或障碍物聚集在场地对角的场地相比，障碍物在场地中均匀分布会导致猎物捕获速度慢15%，攻击距离短30 - 38%。猎物捕获概率不受场地类型或捕获速度的影响，但会随着攻击距离的增加而下降。同样，不同场地类型中猎物被消耗的概率也随着攻击距离的增加而下降。然而，在更开阔的场地中，猎物被消耗的概率随着猎物捕获速度的增加而下降，但在杂乱的场地中并非如此。在更开阔的场地中，觅食准确性随着速度的增加而下降，而当障碍物距离更近时则保持相对稳定。当有足够空间时，觅食成功率主要受内在特性（速度 - 机动性权衡）的限制，但在“杂乱”栖息地中，环境条件对觅食成功率的影响更大。这项对关于动物最佳移动速度的理论预测的实证检验，在理解动物如何在自然中选择速度方面向前迈进了一步。
