Optimal foraging: The responses of Peromyscus leucopus to experimental changes in processing time and hunger.

Food density, degree of hunger prior to foraging, and food processing difficulty were varied in order to determine their effects on the diet diversity of captive Peromyscus leucopus foraging for buried seeds. No relationship was found between diet diversity and food density. However, diet diversity exhibited a significantly positive relationship with hunger, and a significantly negative relationship with seed processing time. These results strongly support optimal foraging theory.