FOOD ACQUISITION AND DIGESTION | Energetics of Prey Capture: From Foraging Theory to Functional Morphology

Organisms coexist in space and time. Their relationships with the environment and each other shape diet, as well as behavior and physical attributes that contribute to food acquisition. Several broad types of interaction exist, including competition for resources, predation and the avoidance thereof, facilitation, and/or amelioration of stressors. Competition can influence foraging, and the ecomorphological paradigm has its basis in competition theory. Competition theories can help provide explanations for organismal forms and their function that we see in nature. The performance consequences of changes to an organism’s behavior or morphology continue to motivate research in this area and help us understand the diversity of fish forms and function.