2026-10-14T10:19:38Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34005456 2026-09-27T18:23:38Z category_24214 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<b>Dining at heights: linked decision-making shapes resource acquisition in a social megaherbivore</b> Herbert Kasozi (22682042) Behavioural ecology decision making foraging patch exploitation resource configuration <p dir="ltr">Free-ranging animals foraging in heterogeneous habitats make sequential decisions concerning where to feed, how intensively to feed on a patch, how long to remain in feeding patches, and how long to travel to the next patch. These decisions ultimately determine how many patches individual animals use over time. To fully understand a species’ food acquisition process, a comprehensive analysis covering the entire decision cycle is required. However, the decision-making process shaping food acquisition remains poorly understood for many species. Here, we conducted observations of free-ranging giraffes to examine the decision-making process underlying food acquisition in a heterogeneous habitat. Through 30-min focal follows, we quantified feeding height, bite rate, patch residence time, travel time between successive feeding patches, and the number of patches used, as well as the individual, social, and habitat features that shape these dynamics. Feeding height varied with sex, local social conditions, and time of day, and higher feeding positions were associated with faster bite rates. Females had higher bite rates than males, while bite rate also increased with the number of conspecifics sharing a feeding patch. Individuals with higher bite rates remained longer in feeding patches. Additionally, individuals stayed longer in patches when travel to the next patch was more costly. Greater distances between successive patches increased travel time, while longer patch residence and travel times reduced the number of patches used. Giraffes also used more feeding patches in open grassland and open woodland than in closed woodland. Taken together, our results suggest that animal foraging emerges from linked decision-making shaped by individual characteristics, social context, and fine-scale resource configuration. More broadly, this study demonstrates the value of treating foraging as an integrated decision-making process rather than a collection of independent behaviors.</p> 2026-09-27T18:23:38Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34005456.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_b_Dining_at_heights_linked_decision-making_shapes_resource_acquisition_in_a_social_megaherbivore_b_/34005456 CC BY 4.0