Optimal Foraging Theory

A theoretical framework in ecology that models how a forager (an animal or organism) should select prey, patches, or behaviors to maximize a currency such as net energy intake or fitness, subject to constraints like time, predation risk, and resource distribution.

A decision‑theoretic framework that models how foragers select resources, prey, and patch‑use strategies to maximize a chosen currency (commonly net energy gain per unit time) subject to constraints such as search time, handling time, predation risk, nutrient requirements and imperfect information.

An ecological model that predicts resource‑selection and subsistence decisions by organisms (including humans) as strategies that maximize net returns (commonly energetic gains) relative to costs such as search time and handling time, subject to constraints and trade‑offs; in archaeology OFT is used as a testable framework for interpreting diet composition, tool choice, and mobility.