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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Published on: April 23, 2016

Optimal foraging, specialization, and a solution to Liem's paradox.

B W Robinson¹, D S Wilson

¹Department of Zoology and Center for Biodiversity, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.

The American Naturalist

|September 25, 2008

Summary

Phenotypic specialists can be ecological generalists by using preferred resources, driven by optimal foraging theory. This explains species coexistence and specialization paradoxes in communities.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Behavioral Ecology

Background:

Species with specialized phenotypes (morphology, behavior, physiology) can act as ecological generalists, posing a paradox.
This paradox has been used to question competition's role in diversification.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose an alternative explanation for the paradox of phenotypic specialists acting as ecological generalists.
To explore the role of optimal foraging theory in driving phenotypic specialization.

Main Methods:

Developed a theoretical model based on optimal foraging theory.
Distinguished between three concepts of specialization: diet, prey utilization efficiencies, and phenotypic adaptations.

Main Results:

Asymmetric resource availability (preferred vs. non-preferred) allows for phenotypic specialization without compromising generalist abilities.
Competition can drive specialization on non-preferred resources, but specialists remain generalists when preferred resources are available.
Extreme phenotypic specialization can arise without trade-offs between resource types.

Conclusions:

The model reconciles the paradox of specialists acting as generalists.
It suggests specialists may reject resources they are adapted for.
Provides a mechanism for species coexistence in stable communities with shared resource preferences.