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The Lotka–Volterra predator-prey model makes a number of assumptions about the environment and biology of the predator and prey populations: [5] The prey population finds ample food at all times. The food supply of the predator population depends entirely on the size of the prey population.
Ratio-dependent predation may account for heterogeneity in large-scale natural systems in which predator efficiency decreases when prey is scarce. [1] The merit of ratio-dependent versus prey-dependent models of predation has been the subject of much controversy, especially between the biologists Lev R. Ginzburg and Peter A. Abrams. [ 3 ]
The aim of Huffaker’s 1958 experiment was to “shed light upon the fundamental nature of predator–prey interaction” [2] and to “establish an ecosystem in which a predatory and a prey species could continue living together so that the phenomena associated with their interactions could be studied in detail”. [3]
a = conversion efficiency: the fraction of prey energy assimilated by the predator and turned into new predators P = predator density V = prey density m = predator mortality c = capture rate Demographic response consists of a change in dP/dt due to a change in V and/or m. For example, if V increases, then predator growth rate (dP/dt) will increase.
Examples include predator-prey competition and host-parasite co-evolution, as well as mutualism. Evolutionary game models have been created for pairwise and multi-species coevolutionary systems. [58] The general dynamic differs between competitive systems and mutualistic systems.
The paradox of enrichment is a term from population ecology coined by Michael Rosenzweig in 1971. [1] He described an effect in six predator–prey models where increasing the food available to the prey caused the predator's population to destabilize. A common example is that if the food supply of a prey such as a rabbit is overabundant, its ...
Source–sink dynamics is a theoretical model used by ecologists to describe how variation in habitat quality may affect the population growth or decline of organisms.. Since quality is likely to vary among patches of habitat, it is important to consider how a low quality patch might affect a population.
Experiments on blue jays suggest they form a search image for certain prey.. Visual predators may form what is termed a search image of certain prey.. Predators need not locate their host directly: Kestrels, for instance, are able to detect the faeces and urine of their prey (which reflect ultraviolet), allowing them to identify areas where there are large numbers of voles, for example.