The marginal value theorem

The marginal value theorem explains how animals decide when to leave a food patch and move on. It suggests they should stay in a patch as long as the resources are providing more benefit than the average rate of finding food elsewhere. Once the current patch's rate of food intake drops below the overall average for the environment, it's better to move to a new patch. This strategy helps maximize energy gain over time by balancing the effort spent gathering food in a single area with the potential rewards of exploring new patches.