OPTIMAL FORAGING THEORY

Optimal foraging theory (OFT) is a model that helps predict how an animal behaves when it is
searching for food. Although obtaining food provides the animal with energy, searching for and
capturing the food require both energy and time. The animal wants to gain the most benefit
(energy) for the lowest cost during foraging, so that it can maximize its fitness. OFT helps
predict the best strategy that an animal can use to achieve this goal.
This theory assumes that the most economically advantageous foraging pattern will be selected
for in a species through natural selection. When using OFT to model foraging behavior,
organisms are said to be maximizing a variable known as the currency, such as the most food
per unit time. In addition, the constraints of the environment are other variables that must be
considered. Constraints are defined as factors that can limit the forager's ability to maximize the
currency. The optimal decision rule, or the organisms best foraging strategy, is defined as the
decision that maximizes the currency under the constraints of the environment. Identifying the
optimal decision rule is the primary goal of the OFT.

Optimal foraging of oystercatchers

Oystercatcher mussel feeding provides an example of how the optimal diet model can be
utilized. Oystercatchers forage on mussels and crack them open with their bills. The constraints
on these birds are the characteristics of the different mussel sizes. While large mussels provide
more energy than small mussels, large mussels are harder to crack open due to their thicker
shells. This means that while large mussels have a higher energy content (E), they also have a
longer handling time (h). The profitability of any mussel is calculated as E/h. The oystercatchers
must decide which mussel size will provide enough nutrition to outweigh the cost and energy
required to open it. In their study, Meire and Ervynck tried to model this decision by graphing

the relative profitabilities of different sized mussels. They came up with a bell-shaped curve,
indicating that moderately sized mussels were the most profitable. However, while this model
predicted that oystercatchers should prefer mussels of 5055 mm, the observed data showed that
oystercatchers actually prefer mussels of 3045 mm. Meire and Ervynk then realized the
preference of mussel size did not only depend on the profitability of the prey, but also on the
prey density. After this was accounted for, they found a good agreement between the model's
prediction and the observed data.

Blue gill Sunfish foraging for water fleas (Daphnia)

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