Predators

Question 1: What are Predator and Prey?

Answer:

Predators are organisms that hunt and eat other organisms to sustain themselves. The organism that is killed and eaten by the predator is known as the prey.

Question 2: Discuss the role of Predators in an Ecosystem.

Answer:

Predators are very important as they perform the following crucial roles in an ecosystem, 

• They serve as “conduits” for the passage of energy to higher trophic levels.
• They maintain a balance in the ecology by limiting the prey population, which may otherwise reach extremely high densities.
• By reducing the severity of rivalry among the competing prey species, they assist in maintaining species diversity in a community.

Question 3: Define Predation.

Answer:

Predation is an interspecies interaction where a weak animal (called prey) is killed and eaten by a strong animal (called predator). 

Question 4: Define Population

Answer:

A population is a collection of members of the same species who share or compete for resources in a specific geographic area.

One species completely depends on the other in this connection for food and survival. The species that are fed upon is known as the prey, while the species that feeds on another species is known as the predator. Predation is the name given to the entire relationship.

Because the predator is typically larger and more powerful than the prey, it eats prey throughout its whole life cycle. A predator may become prey in some food chains and food webs since all living things eventually acquire some sort of defense system. In addition to serving as “conduits” for energy transfer among trophic levels, predators also play a crucial role in maintaining the prey population. Predators also contribute to the preservation of species variety in communities by lowering levels of prey-species competition.

For example, The starfish Pisaster is a significant predator in the rocky intertidal habitats along the Pacific Coast of North America. In a field experiment, interspecific competition caused more than 10 species of invertebrates to go extinct in less than a year when all the starfish were removed from a restricted intertidal area.

A predator may over-exploit its prey if it is overly effective, leading to the potential extinction of both the prey and the predator due to a shortage of food. Predators in nature are “prudent” because of this. To decrease the effects of predation, prey animals have developed a variety of defenses. Some frog and bug species have camouflaged colors to help them avoid being easily seen by predators.

Also Read: Ecosystem and Its Components