4
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: not found
      • Article: not found

      Central place foraging by beavers (Castor canadensis): a test of foraging predictions and the impact of selective feeding on the growth form of cottonwoods (Populus fremontii)

      ,
      Oecologia
      Springer Nature

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Several predictions of central place foraging theory were tested. As predicted, beavers foraged more selectively at increasing distance from the central place. With increasing distance from the river's edge, beavers cut fewer branches and deleted small branches from their diet. Large branches were favored at all distances, which differs from patterns observed in previous studies of beaver foraging. This difference, however, is expected and supports Schoener's (1979) predictions which are based on differences between provisioning costs and item size.The selective harvesting of branches predicted by foraging theory affects plant growth form and may influence plant reproductive patterns. High rates of branch removal caused cottonwoods to develop a shrubby architecture. The importance of selective branch choice by beavers on patterns of cottonwood reproduction (i.e., delayed sexual maturity and induced cloning) is discussed.

          Related collections

          Most cited references9

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Optimal Foraging Theory: A Critical Review

          G Pyke (1984)
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            Generality of the Size-Distance Relation in Models of Optimal Feeding

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Chronic herbivory: impacts on architecture and sex expression of pinyon pine.

              Pinyon pine, Pinus edulis (Engelm.), in Northern Arizona is exposed to recurring high levels of herbivory by the moth Dioryctria albovitella (Hust.). During a 3-year period, infested trees experienced on average a 30 percent reduction in annual shoot production. This herbivory affects tree architecture, growth rate, reproductive output, and sexual expression. Less infested trees produce 47 percent more trunk wood, 43 percent more branch wood, and are monoecious. Architectural changes in infested trees can result infunctionally male plants due to a complete loss of normal female cone-bearing ability. When herbivores are experimentally removed, normal growth and reproduction patterns resume. These strong herbivore impacts should represent a potent selection pressure in the evolution of host traits.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Oecologia
                Oecologia
                Springer Nature
                0029-8549
                1432-1939
                July 1985
                July 1985
                : 66
                : 4
                : 558-562
                Article
                10.1007/BF00379350
                28310799
                275b8063-ddcd-4d60-b774-f2fca47b2d96
                © 1985
                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article