Functional Responses of Optimal Foragers

Functional responses are derived for several models in which a predator is able to vary the proportion of time that it spends foraging in an adaptive manner. Results suggest that: (1) the functional response of such predators is likely to be very plastic; (2) the traditional type 1, 2, 3 classification is not sufficient to describe the functional responses of such predators; and (3) variation in the proportion of time spent foraging can provide an alternative mechanism for traditional functional response forms.