Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The view of animals as optimizers is extremely important in many parts of biology, and is represented in a variety of theoretical models. Current developments in animal welfare create a need for a new theoretical model, which treats the animal as acting optimally in its choice of a sequence of behaviours, and places as few restrictions as possible on what quantity is being maximized. The intention is to facilitate the study of what the animal chooses, which will often be relevant in considering animal welfare. Currently, economic models of the consumer are borrowed in this situation, but they are not well suited for the increasingly exact analyses being performed. A new alternative model is presented here analytically in general, and a special case is studied numerically. The model does not attribute internal states to the individual, which is a simplification with advantages and disadvantages. © 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Original publication

DOI

10.1006/anbe.2001.1871

Type

Journal article

Journal

Animal Behaviour

Publication Date

01/01/2002

Volume

63

Pages

183 - 191