Skip to main content
Log in

Macronutrient modifications of optimal foraging theory: An approach using indifference curves applied to some modern foragers

Human Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The use of energy (calories) as the currency to be maximized per unit time in Optimal Foraging Models is considered in light of data on several foraging groups. Observations on the Ache, Cuiva, and Yora foragers suggest men do notattempt to maximize energetic return rates, but instead often concentrate on acquiring meat resources which provide lower energetic returns. The possibility that this preference is due to the macronutrient composition of hunted and gathered foods is explored. Indifference curves are introduced as a means of modeling the tradeoff between two desirable commodities, meat (protein-lipid) and carbohydrate, and a specific indifference curve is derived using observed choices in five foraging situatiuons. This curve is used to predict the amount o meat that Mbuti foragers will trade for carbohydrate, in an attempt to test the utility of the approach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altman, S., and Wagner, S. (1978). A general model of optimal diet. In Chivers, D. J., and Herbert, J. (eds.),Recent Advances in Primatology (Vol. 1). Academic Press, London, pp. 407–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckerman, S. (1983). Carpe diem: An optimal foraging approach to Bari fishing and hunting. In Hames, R., and Vickers, W. (eds.),Adaptive Responses of Native Amazonias. New York, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belovsky, G. E. (1978). Diet optimization in a generalist herbivore, the moose.Theoretical Population Biology 14: 105–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belovsky, G. E. (1984). Herbivore optimal foraging: A comparative test of three models.American Naturalist 124: 97–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belovsky, G. E. (1987). Hunter-gatherer foraging: A linear programing approach.Journal of Anthropology and Archeology 6: 29–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blundell, J. E. (1983). Problems and processes underlying the control of food selection and nutrient intake. In Wurtman, R. J., and Wurtman, J. J. (eds.),Nutrition and the Brain (Vol. 6). New York, Raven Press, pp. 163–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, R., and Richerson, P. (1985).Culture and the Evolutionary Process. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkhardt, S., Mercer, L. P. Schweisthal, M., and Cole, T. (1982). Kinetics of specific food intake and weight gain in rats.American Journal of Phisiology 243: 531–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castonguay, T., Hartman, W., Fitzpatrick, E., and Stern, J. (1982). Dietary self-selection and the Zucker Rat.Journal of Nutrition 112: 796–800.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chagnon, N., and Hames, R. (1979). Protein deficiency and tribal warfare in Amazonia: New data.Science 20: 910–913.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charnov, E. L. (1973). Optimal Foraging: Some Theoretical Expectations. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charnov, E. L., and Orians, G. H. (1973). Optimal Foraging: Some Theoretical Explorations. Masters thesis, Department of Biology, University of Utah.

  • Covich, A. (1972). Ecological economics of seed consumption by peromyscus: A graphical model of resource substitution.Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of the Arts and Sciences 44: 71–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donald, P., Pitts, G., and Pohl, S. (1980). Body weight and composition in laboratory rats: Effects of diets with high or low protein concentration.Science 211: 185–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durnin, J. V. G. A., Edholm, O. G., Miller, D. S., and Waterlow, J. C. (1973). How much food does man require?Nature 242: 418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, J. M. (1966). The role of time and energy in food preference.American Naturalist 100: 611–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evvard, J. (1915).Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science 22: 375–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fomon, S., Thomas, L., Filer, L., Zediler, E., and Leonard, M. (1971). Food consumption and growth of normal infants fed milk-based formulas.Acta paediatr. Scan. (suppl.) 223: 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, D. (1982). Proteina y cultura en al Amazonia: Una segunda revision.Amazonia Peruana 3: 85–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hames, R., and Vickers, W. (1982). Optimal diet breadth theory as a model to explain variability in Amazonian hunting.American Ethnologist 9: 258–278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, J. (1978). From subsistence to market: A case study of the Mbuti net hunters.Human Ecology 6: 325–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes, K. (1987). Fitness and foraging effort. In Harris, M., and Ross, E. (eds.),Food Preferences and Aversions. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes, K., and O'Connell, J. (1985). Optimal foraging models and the case of the Kung.American Anthropologist 87(2): 401–405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes, K., Hill, K., O'Connell, J. (1982). Why hunters gather: Optimal foraging and the Ache of Eastern Paraguay.American Ethnologist 9: 379–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes, K., O'Connell, J., Hill, K., and Charnov, E. (1985). How much is enough? Hunters and limited needs.Ethology and Sociobiology 6: 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hickson, J., Wolinsky, I., Pivarnik, J., Neuman, E., Itak, J., and Stockton, J. (1987). Nutritional profile of football athletes eating from a training table.Nutrition Research 7: 27–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., and Hawkes, K. (1983). Neotropical hunting among the Ache of eastern paraguay. In Hames, R., and Vickers, W. (eds.),Adaptive Responses of Native Amazonians.

  • Hill, K., and Kaplan, H. (1988). Population Description and Dry Season Subsistence Strategies among the Newly Contacted Yora (Yaminahua) of Manu National Park, Peru. In press National Geographic Research 5(3).

  • Hill, K., and Kaplan, H. (1987). Tradeoffs in male and female reproductive strategies among the Ache: Part 2. In Betzig, L., Borgerhoff-Mulder, M., and Turke, P. (eds.)Human Reproductive Effort. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., Hawkes, K., Hurtado, A. M., and Kaplan, H. (1984). Seasonal variance in the diet of Ache hunter-gatherers of eastern Paraguay.Human Ecology 12: 145–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K., Kaplan, H., Hawkes, K., and Hurtado, A. M. (1987). Foraging decisions among Ache hunter-gatherers: New data and implications for optimal foraging models.Ethology and Sociobiology 8: 1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, A. M. (1985). Womens Subsistence Strategies among Ache Hunter-Gatherers of Eastern Paraguay. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Utah.

  • Hurtado, A. M., and Hill, K. (1986). The Cuiva: Hunter-gatherers of Western Venezuela.Anthroquest 36.

  • Hurtado, A. M., and Hill, K. (1987). Early dry season subsistence ecology of Cuiva foragers of Venezuela.Human Ecology 15(2).

  • Hurtado, A. M., Hawkes, K., and Hill, K. (1985). Female subssitence strategies among the Ache of eastern Paraguay.Human Ecology 13: 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jerome, N., Pelto, G., and Kandel, R. (1980). An ecological approach to nutritional anthropology. In Jerome, N., Kandel, R., and Pelto, G. (eds.),Nutritional Anthropology. Redgrave, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H. (1983). The Evolution of Food Sharing among Adult Conspecifics: Research with the Ache Foragers of Paraguay. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Utah.

  • Kaplan, H., and Hill, K., (1985a). Food sharing among Ache foragers: Tests of explanatory hypothesis.Current Anthropology 26(2): 223–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H., and Hill, K. (1985b). Hunting ability and reproductive success among male Ache foragers: Preliminary results.Current Anthropology 26(1): 131–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keene, A. (1981). Optimal foraging in a non-marginal environment: A model of prehistoric subsistence strategies in Michigan. In Winterhaider, B., and Smith, E. A. (eds.),HunterGatherer Foraging Strategies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leshner, A., Collier, G., and Squibb, R. (1971).Physiology and Behavior 6: 1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leung, W. T. (1961).Food Composition Table for use in Latin America, NIH, Bethesda, Md.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R. H., and Pianka, E. R. (1966). On optimal use of a patchy environment.American Naturalist 100: 603–609.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martorell, R., Land Habicht, J.-P. (1986). Growth in early childhood in developing countries. In Falkner, F., and Tanner, J. (eds.),Human Growth: A Comprehensive Treatise (Vol. 3). Plenum Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maynard Smith, J. (1978). Optimization theory in evolution.Am. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 9: 31–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D., and Mumford, P. (1967). An experimental study of overeating low or high protein diets.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 20: 1212–1222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milton, K. (1979). Factors influencing leaf choice by Howler Monkeys. A test of some hypotheses of food selection by generalist herbivores.American Naturalist 114: 362–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, E., and Johnson, A. (1977). Machiguenga energy expenditure.Ecology of Food and Nutrition 6: 97–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Connell, J., and Hawkes, K. (1981). Alywara plan use and optimal foraging theory. In Winterhalder, B., and Smith, E. A. (eds.),Hunter-Gatherer Foraging Strategies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulliam, H. R. (1975). Diet optimization with nutrient constraints.American Naturalist 109: 765–768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pyke, G., Pullaim, H. R., and Charnov, E. (1977). Optimal foraging: A selective review of theory and test.Quarterly Review of Biology 52: 137–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rachlin, H., Battalio, R., Kagel, J., and Green, L. (1981). Maximization theory in behavioral psychology.Behavioral Brain Science 4: 371–417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapport, D. J. (1971). An optimization model of food selection.American Naturalist 105: 575–587.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapport, D. J. (1980). Optimal foraging for complementary resources.American Naturalist 116: 324–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reidhead, V. A. (1979). Linear programming models in archeology.Annual Review of Anthropology. 79: 543–578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanjur, D., and Romero, E. (1972). Conceptual levels of dietary indicators as predictors of nutritional status.Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress on Nutrition, 2: 214–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sih, A., and Milton, K. (1985). Optimal diet theory: Should the !Kung eat mongongos.American Anthropologist 87(2): 395–400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. A. (1980). Evolutionary Ecology and the Analysis of Human Foraging Behavior. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Cornell University.

  • Smith, E. A. (1981). The application of optimal foraging theory to the analysis of hunter-gatherer group size. In Winterhaider, B., and Smith, E. A. (eds.),Hunter-Gatherer Foraging Strategies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. A. (1983). Anthropological applications of optimal foraging theory: A critical review.Current Anthropology 24: 625–651.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. A. (1985). Inuit foraging groups: Some simple models incorporating conflicts of interest, relatedness, and central place sharing.Ethology and Sociobiology 6: 37–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. A. (1987). Risk and uncertainty in the “original afluent society”: Evolutionary ecology of resource sharing and land tenure. In Woodburn, J., Ingold, T., and Riches, D. (eds.),History, Evolution, and Social Change in Hunting and Gathering Societies. Berg Publishers, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, D., and Krebs, J. (1987).Foraging Theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman, D. (1982).Resource Competition and Community Structure. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willet, J. (1973). Food needs and the effective demand for food. In Poleman and Freebank (eds.),Food, Population and Employment: The Impact of the Green Revolution. Praeger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterhaider, B. E. (1977). Foraging Strategies and Adaptations of the Boreal Forest Cree: An Evaluation of Theory and Models from Evolutionary Ecology. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Cornell, University.

  • Winterhaider, B. E. (1981). Foraging strategies in the Boreal environment: An analyses of Cree hunting and gathering. In Winterhaider, B., and Smith, E. A. (eds.),Hunger-Gatherer Foraging Strategies: Ethnographic and Acheological Analyses. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterhaider, B. (1983). Opportunity-cost foraging models for stationary and mobile predators.American Naturalist 122: 73–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterhaider, B. E. (1987). Diet choice, risk, and food sharing in a stochastic environment.Journal of Anthropological Archeology 5: 369–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterhaider B., and Smith, E. A. (1981).Hunter-Gatherer Foraging Strategies: Ethnographic and Acheological Analyses. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshimura, Y., Kighi, K., Matsumot, Y., and Inoue, S. (1982). Quantitative effects of nitrogen and energy intakes on body weight and nitrogen retention in adult rats.Tokushima Journal of Exp. Medicine 29: 163–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zefas, A., Jellife, D., and Jellife, E. F. P. (1986). Epidemiology and nutrition. In Falkner, F., and Tanner, J. (eds.),Human Growth: A Comprehensive Treatise (Vol. 3). Plenum Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hill, K. Macronutrient modifications of optimal foraging theory: An approach using indifference curves applied to some modern foragers. Hum Ecol 16, 157–197 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00888091

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00888091

Key words

Navigation