EAGER: Social foraging in Ameiva lizards

National Center For Cooperative Education, Lawrence KS

Investigators

Abstract

Animals that rely on information from others to obtain food are engaging in social foraging, which can include such diverse behaviors as food stealing (kleptoparasitism), communal scavenging, and the cooperative hunting of social carnivores. Well documented examples of social foraging are unevenly concentrated in certain animal groups, though the phenomenon is widespread and extends to animals typically not considered social. The purpose of this EAGER proposal is to develop a line of inquiry concerning the social foraging of the lizard Ameiva corax. Pilot work on A. corax indicates that social foraging is important to this lizard; food sharing is common for large food items and lizards obtain material that adult seabirds bring to the nest to feed nestlings (a form of kleptoparasitism). This project will focus on characterizing the foraging ecology of Ameiva corax, with particular attention devoted to the interactions between A. corax and provisioning seabirds. Observations and surveys of naturally foraging lizards will be used to determine the 1) patterns of association among individual lizards, 2) demographic and social status of lizards that secure food, and 3) circumstances under which lizards obtain fish. The study will enrich understanding of the characteristics of social foraging across circumstances and across animal groups, and will serve as the basis for further studies evaluating the generality of models of social behavior. This study will provide research training to underrepresented students, and the results as well as follow-up efforts will be incorporated into educational activities at a tribal college. Results will be disseminated to the general public through presentations to schools and other organizations (including, but not limited to, schools, tribal organizations, and natural history clubs or centers).