FoRAGE database: A compilation of functional responses for consumers and parasitoids

Functional responses, the relationships between consumer foraging rate and resource (prey) density, provide key insights into consumer-resource interactions while also being a major driver of population dynamics and food web structure. We present a global database of 2598 standardized functional responses and parameters extracted from the published literature. We refit the functional responses with a Type II model using standardized methods and report the fitted parameters along with data on experimental conditions, consumer and resource taxonomy and type, as well as the habitat and dimensionality of the foraging interaction. The consumer and resource species covered here are taxonomically diverse, from protozoans filtering algae to wasps parasitizing moth larvae to wolves hunting moose. The FoRAGE (Functional Responses from Around the Globe in all Ecosystems) database (doi: 10.5063/DB807S) is a living data set that will be updated periodically as new functional responses are published. Data are released under a CC-By-NC-SA license, and credit should be given to this paper when referring to this specific version of the data release.

Automated summary

Functional responses, which describe the relationship between consumer foraging rate and resource density, play a crucial role in understanding consumer-resource interactions and population dynamics. This study presents a global database of standardized functional responses and parameters, covering a wide range of consumer and resource species. The database provides valuable data for future research on ecological interactions.