Levy flights in random searches

We review the general search problem of how to find randomly located objects that can only be detected in the limited vicinity of a forager, and discuss its quantitative description using the theory of random walks. We illustrate Levy flight foraging by comparison to Brownian random walks and discuss experimental observations of Levy flights in biological foraging. We review recent findings suggesting that an inverse square probability density distribution P(l) similar to l(-2) Of step lengths l can lead to optimal searches. Finally, we survey the explanations put forth to account for these unexpected findings. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.