PREDATION In predation, one individual, the predator, captures, kills, and consumes another individual, the prey. Adrienne Farmers

Prey-predation interaction A Adrienne Farmers

 The cycles of increase and decrease reflects a predator –prey interaction  e.g lions feeding on impalas, lynx feeding on rabbits  Prey population reaches higher density than predator population  Portion A = geometric phase- rapid increase of prey, predator population too low to hinder increase  More prey means more food for predators and the predator population increases  More predators = increase in mortality of prey  Less prey could cause predators to emigrate / die, hence prey population can increase again Graph interpretation Adrienne Farmers

Predators, Prey, and Natural Selection  Natural Selection favours adaptations that improve a predator‘s efficiency at finding, capturing, and consuming prey.  These adaptations include a shark’s jaws, a scorpion’s claws and stinger, and a spider’s web and fangs Adrienne Farmers

Prey Adaptation Some animals are very fast and can escape capture simply due to their speed Other prey animals depend on camouflage, hoping to avoid detection Some organisms are poisonous and use bright colors (often yellow and black) to warn other organisms of their toxicity Adrienne Farmers