According to the matching law, in the context of the time it spent outside its own territory, a pied wagtail should have spent 30% of its time in a meadow when there were fewer insects and 70% of its time in the meadow when there were more insects. In reality, the respective percentages were 40% and 80%. What could account for this result?
A) More preferred insects in the meadow
B) More preferred insects in its territory
C) Short travel distance between the two food patches
D) Facing any kind of threat in the meadow

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The pied wagtail might have spent more time in the meadow than predicted by the matching law because the insects in the meadow were more preferred, making the meadow more attractive despite the lower availability of insects.

According to the Matching Law, in the Context of the Time