9321985 Beaton Under the direction of Dr. John Beaton, Mr. Douglas Bird will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will continue his research among Australian Aborigines who live along the shoreline of the Torres Straits. Although these groups no longer follow a strictly traditional hunting and gathering way of life and have been partially integrated into the larger Australian economy, they still rely heavily on shellfish which they gather from reefs in the region. Mr. Beaton will use models based on optimal foraging strategy and analyze subsistence practices. He and his associate will observe foragers during the entire yearly round and determine what factors govern shellfish collecting behavior. This will involve intensive sampling and observation of individual collectors. Activity diaries will be kept and the amount of food per species and associated processing activities will be noted. Because food is essential for life and food collecting strategies are behaviorally determined, both biologists and anthropologists wish to understand subsistence strategies which different species follow. When multiple kinds of resources of varying nutritional value are unevenly distributed across a landscape, how do foragers determine where to go and how to focus their efforts? Because shellfish are sessile and their distribution is easy to determine, they provide an excellent context in which to study this issue. This research is important because it will offer insight into human foraging behavior. It will provide data of interest to both cultural anthropologists and archaeologists and will also assist in the training of a promising young scientist. ***
