Analysis of hunting options by the use of general food taboos
Ecological Modelling
1998
Journal Article
110
1
5-17
0304-3800
general food taboos hunting options amazone ecosystems Tapir Bibliography
A hypothetical model was built, using the STELLA II software program, to test several hunting options for a human hunting group. Different outcomes of possible hunting modes are analysed, such as a change in hunting rate, prey hunted, or species avoided or not avoided by taboos. The model consists of five sectors that reflect a short food chain in an upper Amazonian ecosystem. There is a vegetation sector, a predator sector, and two sectors consisting of browsers and grazers. The last sector represents a human group, known as the Ecuador Achuar. The critical factor analysed is how differences in hunting rate affect a target resource, and how this resource may be affected by general food taboos. The major results of the model are that general food taboos may not be an adaptive short term strategy for hunters, but that a 'moderate' hunting mode may be the most effective option for the human group. Since the model is a simplification of the real world, no general conclusions for management should be drawn from the results. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Sp. Iss. SI
104ZT
Times Cited:3
Cited References Count:23