Question

Step 2: Simulate an Environment with Equal Amounts of Insects, Seeds, and Fruit

Which flock will be able to eat the most? The least? Why?
Flock x is on the top left in a tree branch,flock z is on the ground,flock y is o the top rght in a treebranch

Answer 1

Short answer (with typical assumptions): Flocks X and Y (the two in the trees) will be able to eat the most (about equal to each other); flock Z (on the ground) will eat the least.

Why:
- Fruit is typically found in the canopy, so the tree flocks have access to both fruit and canopy insects. That gives each tree flock two resource types (high-energy fruit + insects).
- The ground flock can access seeds and ground-dwelling insects, but not fruit. Seeds are usually lower caloric value than fruit, so even though Z also has two resource types, its overall intake tends to be lower.
- X and Y will get similar amounts unless they share the exact same tree/patch and compete intensely; in that case per‑flock intake could drop because they split the same fruit/insect patch.

Alternate outcomes to be aware of:
- If insects are concentrated on the ground (most insects ground-dwelling), Z could do better or even best.
- If flocks can move freely between strata, the most mobile flock will get the most.
- If resource patches are clumped (one tree has most fruit), location relative to patches changes who gets most.

If you want, I can run a simple numeric example (assigning calories per resource and patch distributions) to show exact amounts under different assumptions. Which assumptions would you like me to use?