Predation

Question 1

What’s a predator

Answer 1

Is an organism that feeds on another organism, known as their prey

Question 2

What is predation

Answer 2

It occurs when one organism is consumed by another.

Question 3

Describe the relationship between predators and their prey and it’s effect on population size

Answer 3

Predators eat their prey, thereby reducing the population of the prey

With fewer prey available the predators are in greater competition with each other for the prey that are left

The predator population is reduced as some individuals are unable to obtain enough prey for their survival or to reproduce

With fewer predators left, fewer prey at eaten and so not survive and are able to reproduce

They prey population therefore increases

With more prey now available as food, the predator population in turn increases

Question 4

Explain why a predator population often exterminates its prey population in a laboratory but rarely does so in natural habitats

Answer 4

The range and variety of laboratory habitat is much smaller than in natural ones. This means that in nature there is a greater range of hiding places and so the prey has more space and places to escape the predator and survive