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Optimal Foraging: Some Theoretical Explorations, Eric Charnov, Gordon H. Orians

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

This book had its genesis in a rather disorganized and poorly conceived lecture on optimal foraging theory that one of us (GHO) gave to an advanced ecology class during the winter of 1971.The deficiencies in that treatment, combined with the obvious potential of an improved conceptualization and analysis of the problem, led to the formation of a small seminar on optimal foraging theory attended by Charles Fowler, Nolan Pearson and ourselves. This seminar, which extended over two academic quarters, produced the basic fine-grained foraging models and some hints about wider applications of the results. We both found ourselves independently stimulated …