Abstract
Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) is here applied to analyse the foraging behaviour of Brazilian artisanal fishers of the Atlantic coast (Itacuruca and Sao Paulo Bagre villages) and of the inland Amazonian region (Jaraua and Ebenezer villages). Two OFT predictions are tested. Hypotheis1: A fisher who travels to more distant sites should return with more fish, and Hypothesis 2: The further a fisher goes, the longer s/he should stay fishing in a patch. OFT did not explain fishers' behaviour (non-significant regressions for coastal villages) or explain it in specific seasons (low water season for one Amazonian village: H1 r 2 =24.1; H2 r 2 =37.2) and in specific habitats (e.g., lakes and backwaters in Jaraua village, Lakes: H1 r 2 =13.5; H2 r 2 =24.0; Backwaters: H1 r 2 =34.4; H2 r 2 =46.5). The findings can indicate areas or seasons that are under higher fishing pressure, when fishers try to get the best out of a situation without any concern about resource conservation. By knowing the variables that influence fishers' decision-making processes, management initiatives may be more fine-tuned to the local reality and are thus more likely to succeed.
Highlights
Originating in microeconomic theory (Rapport & Turner1977), optimal models were first applied to understand animal foraging behaviour (Stephens & Krebs 1986)
In our study, using examples of artisanal fishers from the Brazilian Amazonian region and southeastern Atlantic coast, we addressed the central place foraging model by examining two of its main predictions: a) fishers should stay longer when foraging in more distant spots, and b) by doing so, they should catch more fish in those spots
The time fishers spent fishing is much longer in the Amazonian region than on the coast, while the travel time varied according to the village, regardless of the environment
Summary
1977), optimal models were first applied to understand animal foraging behaviour (Stephens & Krebs 1986). Their potential to explain human foraging behaviour through simple, operational. Such models offer plausible explanations for a variety of questions that goes from human settlement pattern to the size and composition of social groupings The basic assumption of optimality theories states that the foragers’. Decisions aim at the maximisation of their fitness One of the alternatives is to choose a short-term energy-return currency, assumed to have direct implications in fitness, as fitness is supposed to be positively related to the rate of energy intake acquired while foraging
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