Get Predator Prey Lab Exercise L1 Answer Key

One of the famous examples of predator-prey interactions was illustrated by Canadian lynx as predator and snowshoe hare as prey 3. The dynamics of the hare cycle helps the ecologist to understand the importance of predation and food supplies in regulating that cycle.

For instance, prey species have defense adaptations that help them escape predation. These defenses may be mechanical, chemical, physical, or behavioral.

“When prey are high, predators increase and reduce the number of prey by predation. When predators are low, prey decrease and thus reduce the number of predators by starvation. These predator/prey relationships thereby promote stability in ecosystems and enable them to maintain large numbers of species,” says Allesina.

Predator: an animal that kills and eats other animals. Context: Hawks and coyotes both eat small rodents; they are predators. Prey: animals that are killed and eaten by other animals. Context: Rabbits and crickets are both eaten by bigger animals; they are prey.

Predator–prey interactions are a major evolutionary driving force, mediating the behavior of both predator and prey. Ideally, in order to maximize its fitness, an organism would maximize the time spent foraging for food or finding a mating partner and reproducing.

The model represents an interaction between one prey and two predator populations. The analysis shows that there are four equilibrium points, namely the extinction of predator populations point, the extinction of the first predator population point, the extinction of the second predator and the interior point.

The predator prey relationship consists of the interactions between two species and their consequent effects on each other. In the predator prey relationship, one species is feeding on the other species. The prey species is the animal being fed on, and the predator is the animal being fed.