traplining

Traplining is a foraging strategy in which an animal repeatedly visits a fixed set of resource patches in a particular sequence, forming a route or trapline that minimizes travel time and energy expenditure while maximizing gained rewards. The approach relies on memory for the spatial arrangement of patches and their return rates, with individuals often maintaining stable routes over time though they may re-optimize when resources shift or deplete.

Traplines are typically learned through experience, with foragers using landmarks, distances, and prior rewards to determine the order of visits. Routes can be linear, looping, or branching, and may adapt to seasonal changes, competition, or habitat modification. The strategy is particularly well documented among nectar-feeding species, including hummingbirds and various bees, but has also been observed in other pollinators and some frugivorous or insectivorous animals.

Ecologically, traplining reduces between-patch travel costs and search time, increasing net energy intake. It can influence the spatial and temporal patterns of pollination, shaping plant–pollinator networks by reinforcing consistent visitation sequences and enhancing cross-patch pollen transfer. The behavior aligns with principles of optimal foraging theory, as animals balance energy intake with travel effort under environmental constraints.

Research on traplining employs field observations, animal tagging, and tracking technologies, sometimes using artificial resource arrays to quantify route length, visitation order, and repeatability. The term originates from the trapline concept used in trapping, applied metaphorically to repeated sequences of resource patches in foraging contexts.