AN ECOLOGICAL PARADOX - A FOOD TYPE MAY BECOME MORE RARE IN THE DIET AS A CONSEQUENCE OF BEING MORE ABUNDANT

An ecological paradox relating to optimal foraging theory is discussed: a food type may become less frequent in the optimal diet as a consequence of being more abundant in the environment. Common interpretation of optimal foraging theory does not predict this, since it is assumed (erroneously) that food types are never detected simultaneously. If simultaneous encounters are allowed for, food types cannot be ranked uniquely on the basis of intrinsic properties only; the ranking of food types does in the case of simultaneous encounters depend critically on the relative frequency of available food types in the environment. In this case the paradoxical prediction may easily be deduced.