Q2.25. Assume that early in the summer, the only prey available are stoneflies and caddisflies. If the search time for its preferred prey (the more profitable stonefly) is too long, the house martin should include both stoneflies and caddisflies in its diet. What is the value of this critical search time for stoneflies

The search time is inversely proportional to prey density

Explanation:

Optimal foraging theory is a model used to predict animal behavior during the search of food, which is a critical process that requires the consumption of energy and time. In order to increase its fitness value, animals acquire foraging skills that help to obtain higher energy rates for the lowest cost. Thus, the optimal foraging model enables the prediction of the optimal strategy that allows to maximize the gain of energy during a particular time interval. The critical search time indicates the time that a consumer needs to add additional prey to its menu. In this model, a consumer will be converted to a 'generalist' and will add a second prey to its menu when the search time for the preferred prey is higher to the energy-time coefficient to obtain such prey.