AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Optimal foraging theory predicts that animals will either attempt to maximize energy gained or minimize time spent to obtain a fixed amount of energy.

Detailed explanation-2: -Optimal diet selection, a component of optimal foraging theory, suggests that animals should select a diet that either maximizes energy or nutrient consumption per unit time or minimizes the foraging time needed to attain required energy or nutrients.

Detailed explanation-3: -Foraging strategy must provide the most benefit for the lowest cost-it is a balance between nutritional value and energy required. The currency of Optimal Foraging Theory is energy because it is an essential component for organisms, but it is also the downfall of Optimal Foraging Theory in regard to Archaeology.

Detailed explanation-4: -The study of foraging originally developed in behavioral ecology, to explain the behavior of animals searching for food [90]. Optimal foraging theory posits that an organism should seek to maximize its intake of nutrients, while minimizing expenditures, such as time and energy [91].