The value of a mouthful:
Flight initiation distance as an opportunity cost

European Journal of Ecology, 2015, 1(1), 43-51.

Flight initiation distance of animals when approached by a potential #predator reflects the risk that an individual is willing to take when the individual has to gauge the value of staying put relative to the cost of flight. Author predicted that this cost–benefit balance would depend on the opportunity cost of fleeing. This opportunity cost can be estimated as the difference in flight initiation distance (FID) between an individual engaged in eating rather than just loafing. 

Møller, A.P. (2015). The value of a mouthful: Flight initiation distance as an opportunity cost. European Journal of Ecology, 1(1), pp. 43-51. doi:10.1515/eje-2015-0006

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#predation #risktaking

Findings suggest that individuals of different species adjust their flying initiation distance to the probability of adult survival and also that differences in visual acuity among species as reflected by eye size linked to differences in food mobility affect the opportunity cost of risk taking.