Alex Córdoba-Aguilar (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230693
- eISBN:
- 9780191710889
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230693.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
This book is a collection of nineteen chapters where summaries of major ecological and evolutionary questions have been asked and responded using dragonflies and damselflies as study subjects. Each ...
More
This book is a collection of nineteen chapters where summaries of major ecological and evolutionary questions have been asked and responded using dragonflies and damselflies as study subjects. Each chapter is written by a well-respected scientist. The topics covered are: demography, population and community ecology, life-history, distribution, abundance, migration, conservation, applied use, predator-prey interactions, mating isolation, lifetime reproductive success estimates, reproduction vs. survival, parasite-host relationships, cryptic female choice, sexual conflict, territoriality, sex-limited colour polymorphisms, sexual size dimorphism, flight performance, and wing evolution. Each chapter puts forward new data and hypothesis in relation to further ecological and evolutionary questions.Less
This book is a collection of nineteen chapters where summaries of major ecological and evolutionary questions have been asked and responded using dragonflies and damselflies as study subjects. Each chapter is written by a well-respected scientist. The topics covered are: demography, population and community ecology, life-history, distribution, abundance, migration, conservation, applied use, predator-prey interactions, mating isolation, lifetime reproductive success estimates, reproduction vs. survival, parasite-host relationships, cryptic female choice, sexual conflict, territoriality, sex-limited colour polymorphisms, sexual size dimorphism, flight performance, and wing evolution. Each chapter puts forward new data and hypothesis in relation to further ecological and evolutionary questions.
William J. Sutherland
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198520863
- eISBN:
- 9780191706189
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198520863.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
The availability of food has wide-ranging effects on the population size and demography of wild birds. This chapter describes methods used to discover what birds eat, to measure the rate at which ...
More
The availability of food has wide-ranging effects on the population size and demography of wild birds. This chapter describes methods used to discover what birds eat, to measure the rate at which they can ingest food, and the factors that affect these. Methods used to determine the composition of the diet are presented and compared. The measurement of the size and quality of prey items is described. Techniques used to measure food intake rates, prey handling time, time budgets, depletion of food supplies, and interference among foraging birds are considered.Less
The availability of food has wide-ranging effects on the population size and demography of wild birds. This chapter describes methods used to discover what birds eat, to measure the rate at which they can ingest food, and the factors that affect these. Methods used to determine the composition of the diet are presented and compared. The measurement of the size and quality of prey items is described. Techniques used to measure food intake rates, prey handling time, time budgets, depletion of food supplies, and interference among foraging birds are considered.
André M. de Roos and Lennart Persson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691137575
- eISBN:
- 9781400845613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691137575.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter discusses the emergence of a positive feedback between the density of predators and the availability of its food, mediated through biomass overcompensation in the prey life history stage ...
More
This chapter discusses the emergence of a positive feedback between the density of predators and the availability of its food, mediated through biomass overcompensation in the prey life history stage that it forages on. This positive feedback between predation, prey availability, and thus predator population growth rate manifests itself at the population-level as an Allee effect for the predator: a predator population at low density will decline to extinction, whereas at high densities predators will manage to establish themselves in a community with prey. However, this positive relation between predator density and its population growth rate does not result from any positively density-dependent interactions among the predators themselves, which generally form the basis of an Allee effect. Instead, predators only interact with each other through exploitative competition for prey. The Allee effect emerges solely as a consequence of the demographic changes in the prey population, which are induced by the mortality that the predator imposes. For this reason this phenomenon is referred to as an “emergent Allee effect.”Less
This chapter discusses the emergence of a positive feedback between the density of predators and the availability of its food, mediated through biomass overcompensation in the prey life history stage that it forages on. This positive feedback between predation, prey availability, and thus predator population growth rate manifests itself at the population-level as an Allee effect for the predator: a predator population at low density will decline to extinction, whereas at high densities predators will manage to establish themselves in a community with prey. However, this positive relation between predator density and its population growth rate does not result from any positively density-dependent interactions among the predators themselves, which generally form the basis of an Allee effect. Instead, predators only interact with each other through exploitative competition for prey. The Allee effect emerges solely as a consequence of the demographic changes in the prey population, which are induced by the mortality that the predator imposes. For this reason this phenomenon is referred to as an “emergent Allee effect.”
André M. de Roos and Lennart Persson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691137575
- eISBN:
- 9781400845613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691137575.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter discusses mixed interactions from a different perspective, taking as its point of departure the models for a structured prey, structured predator community with exclusive resources for ...
More
This chapter discusses mixed interactions from a different perspective, taking as its point of departure the models for a structured prey, structured predator community with exclusive resources for both prey and predator that were analyzed in Chapter 6. For both the stage-structured biomass model and the size-structured model based on Kooijman–Metz energetics discussed in Chapter 6, it investigates how an increasing resource overlap between predators and consumers will change community structure and dynamics. The end point of such increasing resource overlap is a model in which consumers and predators compete for the same shared resource and adult predators feed partially or exclusively on juvenile, small-size consumers. This end point is close to the models analyzed by van de Wolfshaar, de Roos, and Persson (2006) and Hin, Schellekens, et al. (2011); the results will be discussed in the light of those publications.Less
This chapter discusses mixed interactions from a different perspective, taking as its point of departure the models for a structured prey, structured predator community with exclusive resources for both prey and predator that were analyzed in Chapter 6. For both the stage-structured biomass model and the size-structured model based on Kooijman–Metz energetics discussed in Chapter 6, it investigates how an increasing resource overlap between predators and consumers will change community structure and dynamics. The end point of such increasing resource overlap is a model in which consumers and predators compete for the same shared resource and adult predators feed partially or exclusively on juvenile, small-size consumers. This end point is close to the models analyzed by van de Wolfshaar, de Roos, and Persson (2006) and Hin, Schellekens, et al. (2011); the results will be discussed in the light of those publications.
Lev Ginzburg and Mark Colyvan
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195168167
- eISBN:
- 9780199790159
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195168167.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
In order to appreciate fully the advantages of the inertial view of population growth, it is necessary to discuss some of the details of and debates about the predator-prey account of population ...
More
In order to appreciate fully the advantages of the inertial view of population growth, it is necessary to discuss some of the details of and debates about the predator-prey account of population cycles. This chapter argues that the ratio-dependant idealization of the predator-prey interaction is quite different from the more traditional prey-dependent idealization. Moreover, the former view is not conducive to cyclic behavior.Less
In order to appreciate fully the advantages of the inertial view of population growth, it is necessary to discuss some of the details of and debates about the predator-prey account of population cycles. This chapter argues that the ratio-dependant idealization of the predator-prey interaction is quite different from the more traditional prey-dependent idealization. Moreover, the former view is not conducive to cyclic behavior.
Graham Bell
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198569725
- eISBN:
- 9780191717741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198569725.003.0011
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Members of a different species may be enemies, such as predators and parasites, or friends, such as mutualists. The linked evolutionary dynamics of strongly interacting species can be complex, and ...
More
Members of a different species may be enemies, such as predators and parasites, or friends, such as mutualists. The linked evolutionary dynamics of strongly interacting species can be complex, and are important in understanding the evolution of disease. This chapter's first section is called Rivals and talks about the social environment; mutual modification; and social coevolution. The second section, Partners, describes the Transmission Hypothesis. It also gives a novel protist-bacterium partnership and talks about experimental evolution of cooperation in a bacterium-phage system; coevolution of bacteria; plasmids; quora and consortia; and finally offers a symbiosis. The third section called Enemies details serial passage; genetic specificity; anisomorphic social matrices; the cost of virulence and resistance; evolution of virulence; epidemics; and talks about arms cycles and arms races; phage wars; and finally perpetual evolution. The final section in this chapter is about ecosystems and talks about uqba; the evolution of trophic structure through sorting; evolutionarily Stable Webs; evolved webs; the innate immune system; the acquired immune system; selection at the ecosystem level; and finally evolution and whole-system properties.Less
Members of a different species may be enemies, such as predators and parasites, or friends, such as mutualists. The linked evolutionary dynamics of strongly interacting species can be complex, and are important in understanding the evolution of disease. This chapter's first section is called Rivals and talks about the social environment; mutual modification; and social coevolution. The second section, Partners, describes the Transmission Hypothesis. It also gives a novel protist-bacterium partnership and talks about experimental evolution of cooperation in a bacterium-phage system; coevolution of bacteria; plasmids; quora and consortia; and finally offers a symbiosis. The third section called Enemies details serial passage; genetic specificity; anisomorphic social matrices; the cost of virulence and resistance; evolution of virulence; epidemics; and talks about arms cycles and arms races; phage wars; and finally perpetual evolution. The final section in this chapter is about ecosystems and talks about uqba; the evolution of trophic structure through sorting; evolutionarily Stable Webs; evolved webs; the innate immune system; the acquired immune system; selection at the ecosystem level; and finally evolution and whole-system properties.
Michio Kondoh
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564836
- eISBN:
- 9780191713828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564836.003.0012
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
How do diverse species coexist in the complex networks of prey-predator interactions in nature? While most theoretical models predict that complex food webs do not persist, recent empirical studies ...
More
How do diverse species coexist in the complex networks of prey-predator interactions in nature? While most theoretical models predict that complex food webs do not persist, recent empirical studies have revealed the very complex structure of natural food webs. This discrepancy between theory and observation implies that essential factors stabilizing natural food webs are lacking from previous models. This chapter reviews these studies on food web complexity and its community-level consequences. It contends that the architectural flexibility arising from foraging adaptation of consumer species is key to explaining linkage patterns and persistent mechanisms of complex food webs. A novel hypothesis is presented, which relates the complexity-stability relationship to evolutionarily history of the community.Less
How do diverse species coexist in the complex networks of prey-predator interactions in nature? While most theoretical models predict that complex food webs do not persist, recent empirical studies have revealed the very complex structure of natural food webs. This discrepancy between theory and observation implies that essential factors stabilizing natural food webs are lacking from previous models. This chapter reviews these studies on food web complexity and its community-level consequences. It contends that the architectural flexibility arising from foraging adaptation of consumer species is key to explaining linkage patterns and persistent mechanisms of complex food webs. A novel hypothesis is presented, which relates the complexity-stability relationship to evolutionarily history of the community.
Dietmar Straile
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564836
- eISBN:
- 9780191713828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564836.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Studies on lakes provide some of the most complete investigations on the structure, dynamics, and energetics of food webs encompassing organisms from bacteria to vertebrates. The life cycle of ...
More
Studies on lakes provide some of the most complete investigations on the structure, dynamics, and energetics of food webs encompassing organisms from bacteria to vertebrates. The life cycle of organisms in temperate lakes is adapted to a highly seasonal environment. Food web interactions in these lakes depend on the seasonal overlap of the occurrence of potential prey, competitor, or predator species. This seasonal overlap (i.e., the match-mismatch of food web interactions) depends strongly on the seasonal dynamics of the physical environment of lakes, such as temperature, light availability, and mixing intensity. Consequently, climate variability influences food web interactions and hence the structure, dynamics, and energetics of lake food webs. This chapter provides examples and discusses the importance of seasonality for the understanding of various aspects of lake food webs and the impact of climate variability thereon.Less
Studies on lakes provide some of the most complete investigations on the structure, dynamics, and energetics of food webs encompassing organisms from bacteria to vertebrates. The life cycle of organisms in temperate lakes is adapted to a highly seasonal environment. Food web interactions in these lakes depend on the seasonal overlap of the occurrence of potential prey, competitor, or predator species. This seasonal overlap (i.e., the match-mismatch of food web interactions) depends strongly on the seasonal dynamics of the physical environment of lakes, such as temperature, light availability, and mixing intensity. Consequently, climate variability influences food web interactions and hence the structure, dynamics, and energetics of lake food webs. This chapter provides examples and discusses the importance of seasonality for the understanding of various aspects of lake food webs and the impact of climate variability thereon.
Simon Jennings
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564836
- eISBN:
- 9780191713828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564836.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
This chapter presents size-based analyses of aquatic food webs, where body size rather than species identity is the principle descriptor of an individual's role in the food web, provides insights ...
More
This chapter presents size-based analyses of aquatic food webs, where body size rather than species identity is the principle descriptor of an individual's role in the food web, provides insights into food web structure and function that complement, and extends those from species-based analyses. Focus is given to body size because it underpins predator-prey interactions and dictates how the biological properties of individuals change with size. Thus, size-based food web analyses offer an approach for integrating community and ecosystem ecology with energetic and metabolic theory.Less
This chapter presents size-based analyses of aquatic food webs, where body size rather than species identity is the principle descriptor of an individual's role in the food web, provides insights into food web structure and function that complement, and extends those from species-based analyses. Focus is given to body size because it underpins predator-prey interactions and dictates how the biological properties of individuals change with size. Thus, size-based food web analyses offer an approach for integrating community and ecosystem ecology with energetic and metabolic theory.
Michael Doebeli
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691128931
- eISBN:
- 9781400838936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691128931.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This chapter discusses adaptive diversification due to predator–prey interactions. It has long been recognized that consumption, that is, predation, can not only exert strong selection pressure on ...
More
This chapter discusses adaptive diversification due to predator–prey interactions. It has long been recognized that consumption, that is, predation, can not only exert strong selection pressure on the consumer, but also on the consumed species. However, predation has traditionally received much less attention than competition as a cause for the origin and maintenance of diversity. By using adaptive dynamics theory as well as individual-based models, the chapter then illustrates that adaptive diversification in prey species due to frequency-dependent predator–prey interactions is a theoretically plausible scenario. It also describes conditions for diversification due to predator–prey interactions in classical Lotka–Volterra models, which requires analysis of coevolutionary dynamics between two interacting species, and hence of adaptive dynamics in two-dimensional phenotype spaces.Less
This chapter discusses adaptive diversification due to predator–prey interactions. It has long been recognized that consumption, that is, predation, can not only exert strong selection pressure on the consumer, but also on the consumed species. However, predation has traditionally received much less attention than competition as a cause for the origin and maintenance of diversity. By using adaptive dynamics theory as well as individual-based models, the chapter then illustrates that adaptive diversification in prey species due to frequency-dependent predator–prey interactions is a theoretically plausible scenario. It also describes conditions for diversification due to predator–prey interactions in classical Lotka–Volterra models, which requires analysis of coevolutionary dynamics between two interacting species, and hence of adaptive dynamics in two-dimensional phenotype spaces.
André M. de Roos and Lennart Persson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691137575
- eISBN:
- 9781400845613
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691137575.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter discusses a variety of positive interactions between predators foraging on different stages of the same prey species, which all emerge owing to the biomass overcompensation that may ...
More
This chapter discusses a variety of positive interactions between predators foraging on different stages of the same prey species, which all emerge owing to the biomass overcompensation that may occur in prey life history stages in response to increased mortality. These interactions include emergent facilitation of specialist predators by generalists that forage on the same prey individuals as the specialists, but in addition forage on smaller or larger prey individuals as well. Furthermore, the chapter shows that two predators that specialize on different life-history stages of prey can facilitate each other to the extent that one predator relies on the presence of the other for its persistence. A stage-specific predator may act as a catalyst species, which promotes and in fact is necessary for the invasion of another predator species, but is subsequently outcompeted by the latter.Less
This chapter discusses a variety of positive interactions between predators foraging on different stages of the same prey species, which all emerge owing to the biomass overcompensation that may occur in prey life history stages in response to increased mortality. These interactions include emergent facilitation of specialist predators by generalists that forage on the same prey individuals as the specialists, but in addition forage on smaller or larger prey individuals as well. Furthermore, the chapter shows that two predators that specialize on different life-history stages of prey can facilitate each other to the extent that one predator relies on the presence of the other for its persistence. A stage-specific predator may act as a catalyst species, which promotes and in fact is necessary for the invasion of another predator species, but is subsequently outcompeted by the latter.
Graeme D. Ruxton, Thomas N. Sherratt, and Michael P. Speed
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198528609
- eISBN:
- 9780191713392
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198528609.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
Predators that rely on surprise may be persuaded to desist from attacking if prey use reliable signals that the predator has been detected. Prey may also be able to reliably signal to a predator that ...
More
Predators that rely on surprise may be persuaded to desist from attacking if prey use reliable signals that the predator has been detected. Prey may also be able to reliably signal to a predator that they are difficult to catch or subdue, and that cause the predator to desist from attacking or switch their attack to another prey individual. The theory underlying such signals is considered and compared to the available empirical data to determine the evolution of such signals and their ecological prevalence.Less
Predators that rely on surprise may be persuaded to desist from attacking if prey use reliable signals that the predator has been detected. Prey may also be able to reliably signal to a predator that they are difficult to catch or subdue, and that cause the predator to desist from attacking or switch their attack to another prey individual. The theory underlying such signals is considered and compared to the available empirical data to determine the evolution of such signals and their ecological prevalence.
Anne E. Magurran
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198527855
- eISBN:
- 9780191713576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198527855.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Trinidadian guppies provided one of the first experimental demonstrations that predators have a significant impact on behaviour and morphology. This chapter begins with a brief general introduction ...
More
Trinidadian guppies provided one of the first experimental demonstrations that predators have a significant impact on behaviour and morphology. This chapter begins with a brief general introduction to predator prey interactions. The consequences of variation in predation risk for Trinidadian guppies, and the trade-offs linked to effective predator defences are then evaluated. It asks if and when adaptive differences can be classed as evolutionary change, and considers the pitfalls associated with such assumptions. Schooling behaviour, evasive tactics, crypsis and colour patterns, mating activity, foraging, and time budgets are examined as well as the relationship between learning skills and geographic variation anti-predator responses. Age-related changes in morphology and behaviour are explored. The chapter ends by examining differences between the sexes in response to predation.Less
Trinidadian guppies provided one of the first experimental demonstrations that predators have a significant impact on behaviour and morphology. This chapter begins with a brief general introduction to predator prey interactions. The consequences of variation in predation risk for Trinidadian guppies, and the trade-offs linked to effective predator defences are then evaluated. It asks if and when adaptive differences can be classed as evolutionary change, and considers the pitfalls associated with such assumptions. Schooling behaviour, evasive tactics, crypsis and colour patterns, mating activity, foraging, and time budgets are examined as well as the relationship between learning skills and geographic variation anti-predator responses. Age-related changes in morphology and behaviour are explored. The chapter ends by examining differences between the sexes in response to predation.
Andrés J. Novaro, Martín C. Funes, and Jaime E. Jiménez
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198515562
- eISBN:
- 9780191705632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198515562.003.0015
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
The culpeo (Pseudalopex culpaeus) and the South American grey fox or chilla (P. griseus) are closely related canids that live in western and southern South America. This chapter examines patterns of ...
More
The culpeo (Pseudalopex culpaeus) and the South American grey fox or chilla (P. griseus) are closely related canids that live in western and southern South America. This chapter examines patterns of prey selection by culpeos and chillas in areas where the two species are sympatric and: (1) where sheep were abundant and the main wild prey, lagomorphs, had different densities; (2) where both canids were protected and sheep density was low. These comparisons are used to evaluate the competitive relationships between the culpeo and chilla and the factors that determine predation on livestock. The comparisons are based on two studies that reported data on culpeo and chilla food habits and a broad array of prey availability, and on unpublished information from one of these studies.Less
The culpeo (Pseudalopex culpaeus) and the South American grey fox or chilla (P. griseus) are closely related canids that live in western and southern South America. This chapter examines patterns of prey selection by culpeos and chillas in areas where the two species are sympatric and: (1) where sheep were abundant and the main wild prey, lagomorphs, had different densities; (2) where both canids were protected and sheep density was low. These comparisons are used to evaluate the competitive relationships between the culpeo and chilla and the factors that determine predation on livestock. The comparisons are based on two studies that reported data on culpeo and chilla food habits and a broad array of prey availability, and on unpublished information from one of these studies.
Herman A. Verhoef and Han Olff
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199228973
- eISBN:
- 9780191711169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199228973.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Although much of the attention to the trophic dynamics of communities is theoretical, empirical data on the different types of dynamics and the underlying mechanisms are increasingly reported. The ...
More
Although much of the attention to the trophic dynamics of communities is theoretical, empirical data on the different types of dynamics and the underlying mechanisms are increasingly reported. The dynamics of small food web modules, or simple webs, are compared with those of complex interactions. Food web modules are described as small systems that possess explicit dynamics. They can be seen as building blocks to construct more realistic food webs, which are subsets of the true complexity in trophic interactions in real ecosystems. It has been stated that in small food webs oscillating consumer-resource interactions occur in natural systems and that in chains of three or more levels trophic cascades seem to be important. Finally, new studies on the dynamics of complex interaction webs are mentioned, focusing on the consequences of specific patterning of interaction strengths across the web for the stability of the overall system.Less
Although much of the attention to the trophic dynamics of communities is theoretical, empirical data on the different types of dynamics and the underlying mechanisms are increasingly reported. The dynamics of small food web modules, or simple webs, are compared with those of complex interactions. Food web modules are described as small systems that possess explicit dynamics. They can be seen as building blocks to construct more realistic food webs, which are subsets of the true complexity in trophic interactions in real ecosystems. It has been stated that in small food webs oscillating consumer-resource interactions occur in natural systems and that in chains of three or more levels trophic cascades seem to be important. Finally, new studies on the dynamics of complex interaction webs are mentioned, focusing on the consequences of specific patterning of interaction strengths across the web for the stability of the overall system.
Alfred Greiner and Willi Semmler
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328233
- eISBN:
- 9780199869985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328233.003.0016
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter focuses on renewable resources and studies the interaction of economic agents, extracting renewable resources, and the resource dynamics as well as the fate of the resources in the long ...
More
This chapter focuses on renewable resources and studies the interaction of economic agents, extracting renewable resources, and the resource dynamics as well as the fate of the resources in the long run. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 15.2 introduces the model and various specifications of the model as well as two theorems. The theorems reveal the relation between zero horizon optimization where the discount rate tends to infinity, and infinite time horizon optimization, where the discount rate is finite. In Section 15.3, analytical results for the open access regime — in the literature typically viewed as a zero horizon optimization problem — are gathered concerning the systems of predator-prey and competitive interactions. Both interactions allow for limit cycles in the optimal trajectories. Section 15.4 presents numerical results for the monopoly problem.Less
This chapter focuses on renewable resources and studies the interaction of economic agents, extracting renewable resources, and the resource dynamics as well as the fate of the resources in the long run. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 15.2 introduces the model and various specifications of the model as well as two theorems. The theorems reveal the relation between zero horizon optimization where the discount rate tends to infinity, and infinite time horizon optimization, where the discount rate is finite. In Section 15.3, analytical results for the open access regime — in the literature typically viewed as a zero horizon optimization problem — are gathered concerning the systems of predator-prey and competitive interactions. Both interactions allow for limit cycles in the optimal trajectories. Section 15.4 presents numerical results for the monopoly problem.
John P. DeLong
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780192895509
- eISBN:
- 9780191914980
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780192895509.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Predator-prey interactions form an essential part of ecological communities, determining the flow of energy from autotrophs to top predators. The rate of predation is a key regulator of that energy ...
More
Predator-prey interactions form an essential part of ecological communities, determining the flow of energy from autotrophs to top predators. The rate of predation is a key regulator of that energy flow, and that rate is determined by the functional response. Functional responses themselves are emergent ecological phenomena – they reflect morphology, behavior, and physiology of both predator and prey and are both outcomes of evolution and the source of additional evolution. The functional response is thus a concept that connects many aspects of biology from behavioral ecology to eco-evolutionary dynamics to food webs, and as a result, the functional response is the key to an integrative science of predatory ecology. In this book, I provide a synthesis of research on functional responses, starting with the basics. I then break the functional response down into foraging components and connect these to the traits and behaviors that connect species in food webs. I conclude that contrary to appearances, we know very little about functional responses, and additional work is necessary for us to understand how environmental change and management will impact ecological systemsLess
Predator-prey interactions form an essential part of ecological communities, determining the flow of energy from autotrophs to top predators. The rate of predation is a key regulator of that energy flow, and that rate is determined by the functional response. Functional responses themselves are emergent ecological phenomena – they reflect morphology, behavior, and physiology of both predator and prey and are both outcomes of evolution and the source of additional evolution. The functional response is thus a concept that connects many aspects of biology from behavioral ecology to eco-evolutionary dynamics to food webs, and as a result, the functional response is the key to an integrative science of predatory ecology. In this book, I provide a synthesis of research on functional responses, starting with the basics. I then break the functional response down into foraging components and connect these to the traits and behaviors that connect species in food webs. I conclude that contrary to appearances, we know very little about functional responses, and additional work is necessary for us to understand how environmental change and management will impact ecological systems
William Eberhard
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780226534602
- eISBN:
- 9780226534749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226534749.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
Prey capture webs perform many different functions, and several general aspects of webs are designed to accomplish different functions. The focus was on orb webs, due to the current dearth of ...
More
Prey capture webs perform many different functions, and several general aspects of webs are designed to accomplish different functions. The focus was on orb webs, due to the current dearth of analyses of other designs. To understand how an orb web functions, it is necessary to leave behind a number of common misconceptions. Perhaps the most important points were the following. Orb webs do not function like sieves or fishing nets, because their lines can be broken by the prey that they are designed to capture. For small prey, a single sticky line is sufficient, but for larger (and generally more nutritionally profitable) prey it is generally not enough to contact a prey with only one or two lines. There is as yet little evidence that orb designs tend to be species-specific, but kinds of data and analyses needed to test this possibility are not yet available. The available data suggest specificity at higher levels such as the genus is more likely than is species-specificity. Some basic traits such as the spaces between sticky lines, the numbers of radii, and the area covered by the web sometimes vary strongly from one web to the next built by the same spider.Less
Prey capture webs perform many different functions, and several general aspects of webs are designed to accomplish different functions. The focus was on orb webs, due to the current dearth of analyses of other designs. To understand how an orb web functions, it is necessary to leave behind a number of common misconceptions. Perhaps the most important points were the following. Orb webs do not function like sieves or fishing nets, because their lines can be broken by the prey that they are designed to capture. For small prey, a single sticky line is sufficient, but for larger (and generally more nutritionally profitable) prey it is generally not enough to contact a prey with only one or two lines. There is as yet little evidence that orb designs tend to be species-specific, but kinds of data and analyses needed to test this possibility are not yet available. The available data suggest specificity at higher levels such as the genus is more likely than is species-specificity. Some basic traits such as the spaces between sticky lines, the numbers of radii, and the area covered by the web sometimes vary strongly from one web to the next built by the same spider.
M.G.L. Mills and M.E.J. Mills
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198712145
- eISBN:
- 9780191780639
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198712145.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Small springbok lambs were killed more frequently than expected and large lambs and subadults in more or less expected proportions. Adults were killed less frequently than expected, although old ...
More
Small springbok lambs were killed more frequently than expected and large lambs and subadults in more or less expected proportions. Adults were killed less frequently than expected, although old animals, females in late pregnancy, and males were vulnerable. A similar selection process was observed in steenbok, except medium-sized lambs, not small lambs, were usually killed, and there was no selection for sex. Cheetah predation was found to have an important density-dependent regulatory role on these two species. Analyses of prey preference using Jacob’s index showed that springbok were the most preferred species, although their distribution was limited, and springhares the most important avoided species, despite their prevalence in solitary cheetahs’ kills. Examples of diet flexibility in the cheetah occurred during an eland influx into the study area, when coalition males killed a number of calves, and when an emaciated female took to preying on unpalatable bat-eared foxes.Less
Small springbok lambs were killed more frequently than expected and large lambs and subadults in more or less expected proportions. Adults were killed less frequently than expected, although old animals, females in late pregnancy, and males were vulnerable. A similar selection process was observed in steenbok, except medium-sized lambs, not small lambs, were usually killed, and there was no selection for sex. Cheetah predation was found to have an important density-dependent regulatory role on these two species. Analyses of prey preference using Jacob’s index showed that springbok were the most preferred species, although their distribution was limited, and springhares the most important avoided species, despite their prevalence in solitary cheetahs’ kills. Examples of diet flexibility in the cheetah occurred during an eland influx into the study area, when coalition males killed a number of calves, and when an emaciated female took to preying on unpalatable bat-eared foxes.
Carolyn M. King and Roger A. Powell
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195322712
- eISBN:
- 9780199894239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195322712.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This chapter discusses some of the ongoing theoretical debates on the role weasels play in community dynamics. There is a conspicuous difference between the far north, where weasels alone can ...
More
This chapter discusses some of the ongoing theoretical debates on the role weasels play in community dynamics. There is a conspicuous difference between the far north, where weasels alone can continue to hunt rodents under the snow all winter long, and the temperate regions, where they are merely one component of a community of predators. Weasels have long been suspected of driving the northern rodent cycles, by extending the periods of low numbers but not preventing the peaks. By contrast, weasels further south are more like passengers than drivers, following the fluctuations in numbers of rodents that are controlled by other factors. Many carefully planned field experiments have not yet decisively proved how far weasel predation explains that difference. In temperate forests, the extent of weasel predation on birds' nests is correlated with the numbers of rodents available, and is often worst after a heavy crop of tree seeds.Less
This chapter discusses some of the ongoing theoretical debates on the role weasels play in community dynamics. There is a conspicuous difference between the far north, where weasels alone can continue to hunt rodents under the snow all winter long, and the temperate regions, where they are merely one component of a community of predators. Weasels have long been suspected of driving the northern rodent cycles, by extending the periods of low numbers but not preventing the peaks. By contrast, weasels further south are more like passengers than drivers, following the fluctuations in numbers of rodents that are controlled by other factors. Many carefully planned field experiments have not yet decisively proved how far weasel predation explains that difference. In temperate forests, the extent of weasel predation on birds' nests is correlated with the numbers of rodents available, and is often worst after a heavy crop of tree seeds.
