Assignment

1.  The optimal strategy for the animal may vary due to the changes in the environmental conditions. Consider a particular season, in which a  certain prey population is abundant; so that the predator can easily catch and kill (handling time is less). Simulate the above case with a lower handling time for the prey and analyze the optimal strategy in this case.

2. Simulate an optimal foraging strategy with default values in the simulator for Prey -1 and Prey -2. Consider two more cases with either one of the prey is absent (by changing the handling time and energy content  to 0) and compare the observations.

3. Describe the difference in the optimal foraging patterns of a searching predator and sit-and-wait (ambush) predators.  Briefly explain the  conditions required to support these two patterns of foraging.

4. Simulate an optimal foraging strategy with default values in the simulator for Prey -1 and Prey -2. Consider three more cases, a) Assume the abundance of Prey -1 is equal to Prey-2, b) Assume the abundance of Prey -1 is half of  Prey-2 , c) Assume the abundance of Prey -1 is twice of Prey-2 .