What are some criticisms of optimal foraging theory?
When optimal foraging theory emerged in 1966, it was highly controversial and stayed that way for years. Many criticisms of the theory centered on use of the word “optimal”. Opponents of the theory claimed that as a result of trade offs in natural selection, behavior can never truly be optimal (Gould, 1979). Others asserted that optimal behavior would require animals to achieve a high level of intelligence to determine the consequences of their foraging actions (Stephens et al., 2007). Early on, the most damaging criticisms were that optimal foraging theory either had not been tested sufficiently, or that it had been tested and failed (Perry and Pianka, 1997). Proponents of optimal foraging theory responded in several ways. When the theory was most controversial, researchers continued studying it but did not use the word “optimal” in their work (Perry and Pianka, 1997). Stephens et al. explain that an animal does not need to understand its own foraging behavior for it to be optimal, ju
