The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging
Study of animal foraging has a long tradition in ethology and animal behaviour literature. These experiments often require field experiments under inhospitable conditions, wide scale of perimeter and more importantly; lack of good experimental control. On the other hand, laboratory tests pertaining...
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| Format: | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| Language: | English |
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2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64051 |
| _version_ | 1811689667757604864 |
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| author | Seah, Jonathan Qun Li |
| author2 | Ajai Vyas |
| author_facet | Ajai Vyas Seah, Jonathan Qun Li |
| author_sort | Seah, Jonathan Qun Li |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Study of animal foraging has a long tradition in ethology and animal behaviour literature. These experiments often require field experiments under inhospitable conditions, wide scale of perimeter and more importantly; lack of good experimental control. On the other hand, laboratory tests pertaining to foraging decisions lack construct validity because they fail to capture characteristic “patchy” foraging landscape. The Five Square (5²) Foraging Test Apparatus (FSTA) was developed as a laboratory based apparatus that incorporates patch foraging concepts to create an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging. I developed the apparatus and conducted a baseline study which determined that the experimental task could be reliably learned by laboratory rats. I further showed that spatial memory did not play a vital role in this task, thus could not confound foraging endpoints. Animals exhibited significant intra-trial variation showing that this experimental protocol show a baseline that is in middle of pure “skim-the-cream” and “lick-the-bowl” strategies; thus retaining good dynamic range for further experimental manipulations. In conclusion, this task can be used to reliably measure changes in foraging decisions under laboratory settings |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:51:45Z |
| format | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| id | ntu-10356/64051 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:51:45Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/640512023-02-28T18:04:31Z The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging Seah, Jonathan Qun Li Ajai Vyas School of Biological Sciences DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences Study of animal foraging has a long tradition in ethology and animal behaviour literature. These experiments often require field experiments under inhospitable conditions, wide scale of perimeter and more importantly; lack of good experimental control. On the other hand, laboratory tests pertaining to foraging decisions lack construct validity because they fail to capture characteristic “patchy” foraging landscape. The Five Square (5²) Foraging Test Apparatus (FSTA) was developed as a laboratory based apparatus that incorporates patch foraging concepts to create an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging. I developed the apparatus and conducted a baseline study which determined that the experimental task could be reliably learned by laboratory rats. I further showed that spatial memory did not play a vital role in this task, thus could not confound foraging endpoints. Animals exhibited significant intra-trial variation showing that this experimental protocol show a baseline that is in middle of pure “skim-the-cream” and “lick-the-bowl” strategies; thus retaining good dynamic range for further experimental manipulations. In conclusion, this task can be used to reliably measure changes in foraging decisions under laboratory settings Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences 2015-05-22T06:17:57Z 2015-05-22T06:17:57Z 2015 2015 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64051 en Nanyang Technological University 25 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences Seah, Jonathan Qun Li The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| title | The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| title_full | The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| title_fullStr | The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| title_full_unstemmed | The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| title_short | The five square (5²) foraging test : an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| title_sort | five square 5² foraging test an ecologically valid laboratory test for optimal foraging |
| topic | DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64051 |
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