BrintonCurran Bird-Brained Foraging Worksheet

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Bird-Brained Foraging Worksheet
Name_______________________________ Date__________
1. In the Data Table, record the quantity of walnuts and quantity of seeds that you ate while you
were a crow. (5 pts)
2. Calculate how many energy units that you gained, and record this in the data table. (5 pts)
3. Determine your efficiency (energy units you gained per piece of food) for each day, and
record this information in the data table. (5 pts)
4. Calculate the totals and averages for how many pieces of food that you ate, how many energy
units you gained, and your efficiency. (5 pts)
Data Table
Foraging
Day
Quantity of
Walnuts
(a)
Quantity of
Seeds
(b)
Energy Units
(a x 3) + (b x 1)
= (c)
Efficiency
c ÷ (a + b)
Day 1
___________
___________
___________________
____÷(_____+____)=_____
Day 2
___________
___________
___________________
____÷(_____+____)=_____
Day 3
___________
___________
___________________
____÷(_____+____)=_____
Total
__________
__________
__________
__________
Average
__________
__________
__________
__________
5. Label the x-axis and y-axis. Graph the relationship between the quantity (x-axis) of each type
of food that you ate and your foraging efficiency (y-axis) for that day. You should have 6
points on the graph, and will use each efficiency value twice (once for each food). Connect
the points for each type of food. (20 pts)
________________
__________________________
Legend
 Walnuts
 Seeds

6. Describe the strategy that made you the best crow forager. Explain how/if your foraging
strategy changed between rounds, and explain whether or not your new strategies were
better. (5 pts)
7. Was eating walnuts or seeds more efficient? Explain why. (5 pts)
8. Why do crows sometimes share information with each other instead of always being
selfish? Why did you choose to share (or not share) with your classmates? If your class
did a similar activity each week, how would your sharing strategy change? (15 pts)
9. List 3 factors that crows (or ravens) use when choosing what to eat, and describe a
situation where each is the most important factor. (20 pts)
10. Challenge: Imagine that you are a raven who is terrible at finding food but good at
breaking into tough food and defending it afterward. Decide whether you would be more
or less likely to share information with your fellow raven, as compared to a bird that is
good at finding food. Explain why. (10 pts)