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An apex predator, also known as a top predator or superpredator, is a predator [a] at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics , meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels .
As described by Paine in 1966, some sea stars (e.g., Pisaster ochraceus) may prey on sea urchins, mussels, and other shellfish that have no other natural predators. [19] If the sea star is removed from the ecosystem, the mussel population explodes uncontrollably, driving out most other species. [4] These creatures need not be apex predators.
When apex predator populations decline, mesopredators can access hunting and den areas once controlled by the apex predators, essentially assuming the role of an apex predator. [2] However, mesopredators often occupy different ecological niches than the former apex predator and will have different effects on the structure and stability of the ...
The animal kingdom rules supreme for the first box office weekend of 2025. For the third week in a row, Mufasa: The Lion King faced off against Sonic the Hedgehog 3 — and this time, the apex ...
Pages in category "Apex predators" The following 140 pages are in this category, out of 140 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. * Apex predator; A.
Superpredator, Superpredators, or Super Predator may also refer to: Apex predator, a predator animal at the top of a food chain "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", the third track from the 1997 film soundtrack The Jackal "Super Predator", a song by Joey Badass from All-Amerikkkan Badass
In North America, the bathornithids Paracrax and Bathornis were apex predators but became extinct by the Early Miocene. In South America, the related phorusrhacids shared the dominant predatory niches with metatherian sparassodonts during most of the Cenozoic but declined and ultimately went extinct after eutherian predators arrived from North ...
Aposematism is paradoxical in evolutionary terms, as it makes individuals conspicuous to predators, so they may be killed and the trait eliminated before predators learn to avoid it. [59] If warning coloration puts the first few individuals at such a strong disadvantage, it would never last in the species long enough to become beneficial.