Saltatory search: A theoretical analysis

Abstract

Many animals search in a saltatory fashion: they move forward, pause briefly, and move forward again. Although many optimal-foraging models bare been developed, most do not address how an animal searches for food. We view search strategies as 'time-distance' functions to allow not only for the possibility of oscillations in body speed, as implied by saltatory search, but other movement patterns as well, including cruise search. The key feature of our models is distinguishing between the body position and the scan position (where the forager is looking). We see the varying movement of saltatory search as a consequence of the curvature in the functions that relate body speed to benefits (Jensen's inequality).