Predator prey relationships (populations and sustainability)

Question 1

What’s stage 1 of predator-prey graph?

Answer 1

• Increase in prey population means more food for predators
• More resources allows predators to survive and reproduce
• Predator population size increases

Question 2

What’s stage 2 of predator-prey graph?

Answer 2

• Increase predator population means more prey organisms are being eaten
• Prey population decreases
• Death rate > Birth rate of prey population

Question 3

What’s stage 3 of predator-prey graph?

Answer 3

• Decrease prey population means that there’s not enough food to sustain the large predator population
• Increase intra-specific competition between predator population
• Predator population is unable to survive and reproduce so leads to a decline in predator population numbers

Question 4

What’s stage 4 of the predator-prey graph?

Answer 4

• Reduced predator population means that more prey organisms are being killed
  -This means that they can survive and reproduce
• Prey population increases

(cycle begins again)