ABSTRACT
Animal event timing refers to the process that an animal undergoes in order to recognize an interval of time. The consequences of reinforcement rate on the subjective perception of time are quite significant. An area that seems most promising for the discovery of event timers in the wild is in the empirical testing of optimal foraging theory. Explanations for this are based on cognitive constraints related to time perception and memory. Animals may discount time in different ways, depending on past experience or genetic predisposition, or they may average rate intake over different intervals. For an American osprey to intercept a fish in shallow water, it must perfectly time its descent and penetration of the water to match the location of its prey. Hippocampal-type event timers offer substantial associative powers in the development of tool use and causal recollection. In some manifestations of cropping, an event timer could help an animal know when to return to a foraging site.
