![]() One of their previous studies - published in Nature in 2008 - demonstrated that population numbers of the various plankton types in this food network fluctuated in a chaotic and thus unpredictable manner. As a result, the two predator species will continually fluctuate in terms of population size after a period of expansion by the first group, the other species will grow, followed by a resurgence of the first group, etc.Įlisa Benincà and Jef Huisman of the University of Amsterdam's Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) studied the complex ups and downs of plankton populations in a food network in the Baltic Sea. New research has shown that interaction between two predator-prey systems can result in anti-phase oscillations. Food animal populations tend to grow rapidly when the number of predators is low, with numbers dropping dramatically as soon as the number of predators rises. The number of predators and prey in a natural system can fluctuate dramatically. Next month their full study will be published in Ecology Letters. Their discovery will be highlighted in today's edition of Nature and tomorrow's edition of Science. This phenomenon has now been demonstrated for the first time by Elisa Benincà and Jef Huisman of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). In certain situations, however, two predator-prey systems can become interlinked, causing chaos in the food network. If the number of predators increases, the number of prey will decline. The population sizes of both predators and their natural prey are often subject to fluctuations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |