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#predators

3 public questions tagged with this topic.

Controls Ecosystem

Removal of top predators leads to:

“Increased prey populations” for removal of top predators leads to. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Coexistence requires stabilizing differences that make each species limit itself more strongly than it limits its competitor, or an equalizing process that keeps fitness differences small. Without such mechanisms, persistent competitive asymmetry tends toward exclusion. The remaining alternatives—“Decreased prey populations”, “Increased stability”, “No ecosystem impact”—refer to diff

Ref: Fundamentals of Ecology, Odum & Barrett, 5th Ed., Ch. 4

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Controls Ecosystem

Predators influence lower trophic levels through:

“Predation” for predators influence lower trophic levels through. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Evidence should connect encounter rates or resource use to survival, growth, or reproduction. The ecological label follows that causal effect rather than superficial proximity between organisms. The remaining alternatives—“Competition”, “Nutrient cycling”, “Mutualism”—refer to different states, processes, or scales and therefore do not express the same causal relationship. Species inte

Ref: Fundamentals of Ecology, Odum & Barrett, 5th Ed., Ch. 4

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SPECIES INTERACTION

Grazers differ from predators because:

Grazers typically consume parts of many prey individuals during their lifetime and usually do not kill each individual outright. A cow removes grass leaves, or a caterpillar eats portions of several plants, leaving the resource organism capable of survival and regrowth. A true predator also commonly attacks multiple prey, but it normally kills each prey individual during a discrete feeding event. Thus, feeding on multiple “hosts” is not by itself unique to grazers; the item’s intended contrast is that grazers repeatedly exploit multiple living organisms rather than maintaining a prolonged asso

Ref: Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, Begon et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 8-13

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