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Livyatan was an apex predator, and probably had a profound impact on the structuring of Miocene marine communities. Using its large and deeply rooted teeth, it is likely to have hunted large prey near the surface, its diet probably consisting mainly of medium-sized baleen whales ranging from 7–10 m (23.0–32.8 ft) in length.
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.
Dentaneosuchus would have been an apex predator of its environment, capable of taking large prey such as Lophiodon. However, for as of yet unknown reasons crocodylomorphs would lose their spot as top predator in this part of the world by the end of the Eocene, with Dentaneosuchus representing one of the last members of its group in Europe.
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 .
Pages in category "Apex predators" The following 138 pages are in this category, out of 138 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. * Apex predator; A.
When populations of an apex predator decrease, populations of mesopredators in the area often increase due to decreased competition and conflict with the apex predator. [2] This is known as the mesopredator release effect , which refers to the release of mesopredators from the trophic cascade . [ 5 ]
The upper value, 5.0, is unusual, even for large fish, [7] though it occurs in apex predators of marine mammals, such as polar bears and killer whales. [8] As a point of contrast, humans have a mean trophic level of about 2.21, about the same as a pig or an anchovy.
Healthy, free-flying Spanish imperial eagles are apex predators, being mostly free of natural predators themselves but they do sometimes kill each other in conflicts and rarely interspecies conflicts may too be fatal. When protected from human persecution and far from threats such as powerlines, adult mortality can be as low as 3–5.4% annually.