Criticism
Many studies, such as the examples presented above, have shown good qualitative support for predictions generated by the Marginal Value Theorem. However, in some more quantitative studies the predictions of the MVT haven’t been as successful, with the observed values substantially deviating from predictions. One proposed explanation for these deviations is that it is difficult to objectively measure payoff rates. For example, an animal in an unpredictable environment may need to spend extra time sampling, making it hard for researchers to determine foraging time.
Beyond this imprecision, some researchers propose that there is something fundamental missing from the model. Namely, animals are probably doing more than just foraging, whether it be dealing with predation risks or searching for mating opportunities. Natural selection is not the only force influencing the evolution of species. Sexual selection, for example, may alter foraging behaviors, making them less consistent with the MVT. These researchers point out that the marginal value theorem is a starting point, but complexity and nuances must be incorporated into models and tests for foraging and patch-use.
One other type of model that has been used in place of MVT in predicting foraging behavior is the state-dependent behavior model. These models are unlikely to generate broadly applicable predictions like those from the MVT because they test predictions under a specific set of conditions. While the predictions of these models must tested under precise conditions, they might offer valuable insights not available from broader models such as MVT.
Read more about this topic: Marginal Value Theorem
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“... criticism ... makes very little dent upon me, unless I think there is some real justification and something should be done.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“It is the will of God that we must have critics, and missionaries, and Congressmen, and humorists, and we must bear the burden. Meantime, I seem to have been drifting into criticism myself. But that is nothing. At the worst, criticism is nothing more than a crime, and I am not unused to that.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“I am opposed to writing about the private lives of living authors and psychoanalyzing them while they are alive. Criticism is getting all mixed up with a combination of the Junior F.B.I.- men, discards from Freud and Jung and a sort of Columnist peep- hole and missing laundry list school.... Every young English professor sees gold in them dirty sheets now. Imagine what they can do with the soiled sheets of four legal beds by the same writer and you can see why their tongues are slavering.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)