predatorprey

Predator-prey describes the ecological interaction in which predators hunt, capture, and consume prey, thereby influencing population dynamics and community structure. Prey species experience selective pressures that favor avoidance, but predators evolve strategies for efficient capture, leading to ongoing coevolution.

Mathematical models of predator-prey range from simple to complex. The Lotka-Volterra equations describe cyclical oscillations where prey growth is limited by predation and predator numbers depend on prey availability. Real-world systems include carrying capacity, different functional responses to prey density, time delays, and stochastic events, which can stabilize, destabilize, or modify cycles.

Dynamics often produce oscillations with prey peaking before predators. With more realistic assumptions, populations may settle at a stable equilibrium, display damped cycles, or show complex behavior including chaos, depending on spatial structure and environmental factors.

Predation can have strong top-down effects, while prey defenses such as camouflage, speed, schooling, chemical defenses, and refuges influence encounter rates. Predators adapt with stealth, cooperative hunting, specialization, and learned strategies.

Classic examples include the wolves and moose of Isle Royale and the lynx and hare in North American boreal forests. Human activities such as hunting, habitat loss, and the introduction or removal of species can disrupt predator-prey dynamics, with consequences for ecosystem health. Understanding predator-prey interactions informs conservation, wildlife management, and pest control, illustrating the interconnectedness of population regulation and ecological balance.