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Focusing on contemporary shellfish exploitation among several atoll communities in Kiribati, Micronesia, this paper examines the relationship between human foragers and their invertebrate prey via the prey choice or diet breadth model derived from optimal foraging theory. Shellfish, like many other reef organisms, are relatively sedentary and predictable, but these characteristics make them susceptible to over-harvesting. The research reveals that shellfish gatherers are foraging in a manner that matches the predictions of optimal foraging theory. The work adds to our understanding of optimal foraging decisions in atoll settings by critically evaluating the depiction of atoll dwellers as conservationists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary observations of marine foraging in a variety of settings suggest that some mollusks tend to be over-represented in middens because of differential preservation relative to other mollusk species as well as other organisms. Ethnoarchaeologists have often relied on the 'typical' pattern of shell-midden disposal for interpreting variation in assemblage composition in the past. This stems from describing and explaining the material consequences of behavior rather than understanding behavior itself. Behavioral ecology with its concern for the variable costs and benefits in decisions about culling activities and transport of prey types promises to improve the quality of behavioral inferences. This paper examines the relationship between two foraging models, prey choice and central-place, among intertidal/shallow subtidal mollusk gatherers in Western Kiribati, Micronesia, and a comparison is made with similar work previously carried out in the Torres Strait, Australia. Results show that decisions about mollusk culling and transport can be predicted by prey attributes within a cost/benefit framework. The research also highlights unanticipated variability and may contribute to the debate on indigenous conservation of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]