All animals feed selectively. This book examines the selectivity of
feeding from a variety of viewpoints. It examines the viewpoint of
the behavioural ecologist that considers decision rules, the
dietitian that looks at nutritional problems, and the community
ecologist that sees feeding as a factor influencing species
diversity. The text brings these diverse disciplines together to
produce a coherent view of the way in which organisms ‘choose’
their diet.
Optimal foraging theory has brought the study of foraging
behaviour, particularly diet selection to a point where
physiological, nutritional, psychological, morphological and
ecological factors can begin to be addressed in a coherent fashion.
This book is not another exposition of optimal foraging theory, but
it does draw on the applications and limitations of the theory to
demonstrate the great potential for the development of diet
selection as an interdisciplinary subject.
* * Authoritative synthesis of the latest thinking in optimal
foraging and feeding theory.
* Adopts, for the first time, a truly interdisciplinary approach
to diet selection.
* Authored by experts from each of the contributing fields.
Table of Content
Introduction.
The Importance Of State.
Digestive Constraints On Diet Choice.
The Psychology Of Diet Selection.
Foraging As A Self-Organizational Learning Process: Accepting
Adaptability At The Expense Of Predictability.
Hunger-Dependent Food Selection In Suspension-Feeding
Zooplankton.
Gourmands Of Mud: Diet Selection In Marine Deposit Feeders.
Diet Selection In Mammalian Herbivores: Constraints And
Tactics.
Effects Of Ecological Interactions On Forager Diets:
Competition, Predation Risk, Parasitism And Prey Behaviour
About the author
R. Hughes is the author of Diet Selection: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Foraging Behaviour, published by Wiley.
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