Predation and Herbivory

Question 1

Predators and Herbivores can reduce population size

Answer 1

to levels below K (carrying capacity)

Question 2

mesopredators

Answer 2

-mid level in food chain
-eat herbivores and insects
-(coyotes, cats, lizards, mantis)

Question 3

top (apex) predators

Answer 3

-top of food chain
-eat herbivores and mesopredators
-(wolves, sharks, crocodiles, eagles)

Question 4

Predator-Prey Cycles caused by time delays

Answer 4

1) slower dispersal of predators relative to prey
2) time needed for predator population to reproduce

Question 5

stable predator-prey population cycles

Answer 5

can be achieved when the environment is complex so that predators cannot easily find prey

Question 6

Lotka-Volterra Predator/Prey model

Answer 6

a model of predator-prey interactions that incorporates oscillations in predator and prey populations and shows predator numbers lagging behind those of their prey

Question 7

growth of prey populations

Answer 7

depends on the growth rate of a prey population (rN) and the rate of individuals killed by predators (cNP)

Question 8

equilibrium (zero growth) isocline

Answer 8

the population size of one species that causes the population of another species to be stable

Question 9

joint population trajectory

Answer 9

the simultaneous trajectory of predator and prey populations

Question 10

joint equilibrium point

Answer 10

the point at which the equilibrium isoclines for predator and prey populations cross

Question 11

functional response

Answer 11

the relationship between the density of prey and an individual predator’s rate of food consumption

Question 12

numerical response

Answer 12

a change in the number of predators through population growth or immigration/emigration

Question 13

type 1 functional response

Answer 13

when a predator’s rate of prey consumption increases in a linear fashion with an increase in prey density (until satiated)
-as prey density increases, predators consume a constant proportion of prey

Question 14

type 2 functional response

Answer 14

when a predators rate of prey consumption slows as prey density increases and then plateaus; often happens because predator must spend more time handling more prey or become satiated

Question 15

type 3 functional response

Answer 15

when a predator exhibits low, rapid, and slowing prey consumption under low, moderate, and high prey densities respectively

Question 16

search image

Answer 16

a learned mental image that helps a predator locate and capture food

Question 17

active hunting

Answer 17

strategy where predators spend most of their time moving around looking for prey

Question 18

ambush

Answer 18

hunting strategy where predators lie and wait wait for a prey to pass by

Question 19

crypsis

Answer 19

camouflage that either allows an individual to match its environment or breaks up the outline of an individual to blend in better with the background

Question 20

warning coloration (aposematism)

Answer 20

a strategy where distastefulness evolve in association with very conspicuous colors and patterns

Question 21

Batesian mimicry

Answer 21

when palatable species evolve warning coloration that resembles unpalatable species
(hover flies resemble the common wasp)

Question 22

Mullein mimicry

Answer 22

when several unpalatable species evolve a similar pattern of warning coloration
(poison dart frogs have evolved similar warning coloration)

Question 23

structural defenses

Answer 23

sharp spines, hair

Question 24

chemical defenses

Answer 24

caffeine, nicotine, morphine (hard to consume)

Question 25

tolerance

Answer 25

increased production of plant tissue after herbivory

Question 26

coevolution

Answer 26

reciprocal process in which adaptations in one population promote the evolution of adaptations in another population