Diet Selection

All animals feed selectively. This book examines the selectivity offeeding from a variety of viewpoints. It examines the viewpoint ofthe behavioural ecologist that considers decision rules, thedietitian that looks at nutritional problems, and the communityecologist that sees feeding as a factor influencing speciesdiversity. The text brings these diverse disciplines together toproduce a coherent view of the way in which organisms 'choose'their diet. Optimal foraging theory has brought the study of foragingbehaviour, particularly diet selection to a point wherephysiological, nutritional, psychological, morphological andecological factors can begin to be addressed in a coherent fashion.This book is not another exposition of optimal foraging theory, butit does draw on the applications and limitations of the theory todemonstrate the great potential for the development of dietselection as an interdisciplinary subject. * * Authoritative synthesis of the latest thinking in optimalforaging and feeding theory. * Adopts, for the first time, a truly interdisciplinary approachto diet selection. * Authored by experts from each of the contributing fields.