Optimal foraging

Definition

The evolutionary and behavioral strategy by which an animal maximizes net energy gain per unit time by balancing the energetic costs of searching for, handling, and consuming prey against the energetic rewards obtained. In arthropods, this involves decisions about patch residence time, prey selectivity, and travel routes between resource patches.

Etymology

From Latin optimus (best) + foraging (searching for food)

Example

A crab spider (Thomisidae) positioned on a flower faces an optimal foraging trade-off: it can wait for large, high-energy pollinators that arrive infrequently, or capture smaller, more abundant prey with lower per-capture energy returns. The spider's body condition and hunger state influence which strategy maximizes its long-term fitness.

Synonyms

• optimal foraging strategy
• energy-maximizing foraging

Related Terms

• foraging theory
• marginal value theorem
• prey selection
• handling time
• search image
• giving-up time
• central place foraging

Usage Notes

Often used interchangeably with 'optimal foraging theory' (OFT), though strictly the theory is the predictive framework and optimal foraging is the resulting behavior. Contrasts with 'satisficing' or 'rule-of-thumb' foraging where animals use simple heuristics rather than precise cost-benefit calculations. In social insects, individual optimal foraging may conflict with colony-level efficiency.