ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC:

Predator and Anti predator behaviour

SUBMITTED TO:

Mam Shazana

SUBMITTED BY:

Faiza Mehjabeen

CLASS:

BS Zoology

ROLL NUMBER:

BZO17-16

COLLEGE NAME:

Litra Valley Postgraduate College,Jhelum

Predator And Antipredator Behaviour

Introduction

Predator:

A predator is an organism that consumes all or part of the body of another—living or recently
killed—organism, which is its prey. "Living or recently killed" distinguishes predators from
decomposers, such as fungi and bacteria that break down the leftover remains of organisms
that have died.

Predators may actively search for prey or sit and wait for it. When prey is detected, the predator
assesses whether to attack it. This may involve ambush or pursuit predation, sometimes after
stalking the prey. If the attack is successful, the predator kills the prey, removes any inedible
parts like the shell or spines, and eats it.

Predators are adapted and often highly specialized for hunting, with acute senses such as vision,
hearing, or smell. Many predatory animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, have sharp claws
or jaws to grip, kill, and cut up their prey. Other adaptations include stealth and aggressive
mimicry that improve hunting efficiency.

Predation has a powerful selective effect on prey, and the prey develop antipredator adaptations
such as warning coloration, alarm calls and other signals, camouflage, mimicry of well-
defended species, and defensive spines and chemicals. Sometimes predator and prey find
themselves in an evolutionary arms race, a cycle of adaptations and counter-adaptations.
Predation has been a major driver of evolution since at least the Cambrian period.

If we see a lion eating a zebra, we can feel comfortable in saying that the lion is a predator. In
the broad definition, however, the zebra is too!

A predator's prey can be an animal, but it can also be a plant or fungus. Nor does a predator
necessarily have to kill its prey. Instead, as in a grazing cow or a bloodsucking mosquito, it
may simply take a portion of the prey's body and leave it alive.

Antipredator

All forms of action by an organism, either reflexive or reactive that function to avoid predation.
This behavior includes anti predatory reactions, camouflage, and mobbing behavior by a group

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of organisms - as well as immobility, rapidly changing, unpredictable behavior (see confusion

Anti-predator adaptations are mechanisms developed through evolution that assist prey
organisms in their constant struggle against predators. Throughout the animal kingdom,
adaptations have evolved for every stage of this struggle, namely by avoiding detection,
warding off attack, fighting back, or escaping when caught.

The first line of defence consists in avoiding detection, through mechanisms such as
camouflage, masquerade, apostatic selection, living underground, or nocturnality.

Alternatively, prey animals may ward off attack, whether by advertising the presence of strong
defences in aposematism, by mimicking animals which do possess such defences, by startling
the attacker, by signalling to the predator that pursuit is not worthwhile, by distraction, by using
defensive structures such as spines, and by living in a group. Members of groups are at reduced
risk of predation, despite the increased conspicuousness of a group, through improved
vigilance, predator confusion, and the likelihood that the predator will attack some other
individual.

Some prey species are capable of fighting back against predators, whether with chemicals,
through communal defence, or by ejecting noxious materials. Many animals can escape by
fleeing rapidly, outrunning or outmanoeuvring their attacker.

Finally, some species are able to escape even when caught by sacrificing certain body parts:
crabs can shed a claw, while lizards can shed their tails, often distracting predators long enough
to permit the prey to escape.

Predator-prey interdependence

Organisms in an ecosystem rely on each other for their survival. This relationship is called
interdependence. When organisms interact with one another it affects their survival. This
becomes obvious when studying predator-prey cycles.

Predator-prey cycles:

1. There are always more prey than predators.

2. The number of predators increases because there are more prey, so there is more food
for them to eat.

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3. The number of prey reduces because there are more predators, so more get eaten.

4. The number of predators reduces because there is less prey, so less food.

There is interdependence between the predator and the prey. Any change in numbers of prey
affects the numbers of predators and vice versa. In a healthy, balanced ecosystem the numbers
of predators and prey remain fairly constant.

When predators are successful at catching prey, they will reproduce more reliably and their
species will increase in numbers, whereas the numbers of their prey will fall. However, in
following years the larger predator population will struggle to find enough food to support
them, and their numbers will fall because of the reduced population of prey species. Eventually
the situation will reverse itself as the number of prey increase due to less predation.

If the ecosystem is large enough and other factors do not have an excessive effect, this can
result in a situation in which populations of predator and prey rise and fall at regular intervals,
with a small time lag between them. There is an inverse relationship between the number of
predators and prey, and vice versa.

Examples of Predator-Prey Adaptations

Both predator and prey play a crucial role in the smooth functioning of an ecosystem. As you
go through these examples of predator-prey relationships, you will get a better idea of the
concept and also, its importance for the environment.

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1-Cheetah and Gazelle

In the African Savannah, the most famous example of predator-prey duo will be the relationship
between the cheetah―the world's fastest land animal―and gazelle. With no place to hide in
the open grasslands, the gazelle has no option, but to outrun the cheetah, and the
gazelle―knowing that the cheetah is at its fastest when it runs in a straight line―does this by
running in a zig-zag pattern. It's a classic example of the survival of the fittest.

2-Osprey and Fish

In the freshwater biome, an osprey catching a fish will be a perfect example of predator and
prey in action. This bird is found nearly everywhere where it can find fish to prey upon. With
its exceptional eyesight, the osprey can see any movement in the water. It strikes at a lightning

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speed and pulls the fish out of water, thanks to its opposable claws and the sharp spiny scales
on its toes. As for fish, their best defense is to avoid shallow water.

3-Great white shark and Elephant seal

In the marine biome, the great white shark is the apex predator. It usually preys on elephant
seals. For seals, the best line of defense is to stay on land. For the great white shark, its
exceptional hearing skills help to locate the seal. It is not always possible for the seal to stay
out of water, lest it can die of hunger. The moment it gets into the water, it is on the great
white's radar. It all comes down to whoever blinks first.

4-Canadian lynx and Snowshoe hare

After analyzing the number of lynx and hare pelts brought in by hunters, Canadian biologist,
Charles Gordon Hewitt came to a conclusion that the two species are highly dependent on each

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other, such that the population of the Canadian lynx rises and falls with a rise and fall in the
snowshoe hare population. Further research revealed that it was the food shortage resulting
from the decline in hare population that affected the reproduction rate of this lynx species.

MacLulich published some classical information in 1937. This population data was obtained
from records of lynx and snowshoe hare populations as evidenced by numbers of skins caught
by trappers from 1845 onwards. It is especially clear-cut as snowshoe hare are the main prey
of Canadian lynx, and there is no other significant predator involved.

Time elapsed Population of Population of

0 20 10

2 55 15

4 65 55

6 95 60

8 55 20

10 5 15

12 15 10

14 50 60

16 75 60

18 20 10

20 25 5

22 50 25

24 70 40

26 30 25

28 15 5

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5-African wild dog and Zebra

Wild dogs might be small, but they make up for it by resorting to pack behavior and their
remarkable stamina. The strategy is simple: coordinate an attack, isolate an individual, tire it,
and bring it down by grabbing its tail and nose. As for zebras, they have the camouflage
working in their favor, making it difficult for their predators to isolate and attack an individual.

Adaptive Values of Predators and Anti pedators

Predators are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. Predators remove vulnerable prey, such
as the old, injured, sick, or very young, leaving more food for the survival and success of
healthy prey animals. Also, by controlling the size of prey populations, predators help slow
down the spread of disease. Predators will catch healthy prey when they can, but catching sick
or injured animals helps in the formation of healthier prey populations because only the fittest
animals survive and are able to reproduce.

In addition, predators help to reduce the negative impacts that their prey may have on the
ecosystem if they become too abundant or it they stayed in one area for too long. When
predators like cheetahs prey on grazing animals like antelope, it keeps the prey population
moving around (in fear) and prevents overgrazing in any one area. As a result, more trees,
shrubs, bushes, and grasses can grow, which then provides habitat for many other species.

If carnivores were removed from an ecosystem, what would happen?

Herds of grazing animals, such as antelope, would grow and grow. Only bad weather such as
a drought, or disease such as rabies, would slow down the herd growth. As a result, large herds

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would overgraze their food source, and as the food disappeared, the whole herd would begin
to starve.

While human hunters can sometimes replace predators in the control of antelope populations,
they generally do not remove the injured, sick, or older animals. Thus, cheetahs and other
predators play an important role in maintaining healthy prey populations.

The cheetah is a valuable member of its community. In addition to its role as a predator,
cheetahs feed other animals, such as vultures, jackals, beetles, and other scavengers. After a
cheetah kills an animal it usually begins eating at the hind quarters, which provide the greatest
amount of meat. Because the cheetah is not an aggressive carnivore, larger predators, as well
as jackals and vultures, can scare the cheetah off its kill. By leaving the remains of a carcass,
the cheetah feeds other animals in the ecosystem.

Experiment on the lynx and the hare

Materials per group:

Flat surface, 12” x 12” area

Masking Tape

Cardstock squares, one-inch (snowshoe hares), 300

Cardstock square, three-inch (Canadian lynx), 1

Paper cutter or scissors

Preparation:

Use tape to make a square with 12” sides, on a table top or other flat surface. The square
represents the area inhabited by a population of snowshoe hares. Cut out 300 one-inch
cardstock hares and a three-inch cardstock lynx.

PROCEDURE:

1. Begin the by populating the habitat with three hares—spatially dispersed within the
square.
2. Toss the cardboard lynx into the square in an effort to capture (i.e., land on any portion
of) as many hares as possible. In order to survive and reproduce, the lynx must capture

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at least three hares when tossed. Remove any hares captured (if any) and enter the
tallies for the first generation on the data table on page 2.
3. The hare population doubles between generations—multiply “Hares Remaining” by
two and enter the resulting number in “Number of Hares” column for the second
generation. Place the required number of hares in the square. If no lynx survived the
previous generation another moves into the area. Toss the newly recruited lynx—
repeating step 2. Remove any captured hares and enter the new tallies.
4. By generation 5 the lynx should be able to capture three hares when tossed. If
successful, the lynx survives until the next generation and also produces offspring—
(one per each three hares captured). Toss the lynx square once for each lynx.
5. As the population builds it is important to separately tally each lynx’s kills, removing
captured hares after each lynx is tossed. Determine lynx survival and reproduction
using individual lynx capture numbers. Remember, lynx produce one offspring for
each three hares captured. If a lynx captures seven hares, three lynx enter the next
generation—the original lynx and two offspring. Individual lynx capture numbers
should be tallied on a separate sheet of paper and only totals entered in the table.
6. Between generations 9 and 11, the populations will probably crash back to, or near,
zero. If and when this happens be sure to begin subsequent generations with at least
three hares. Carry the simulation through to at least 20 generations, by which time the
cycle will be well on its way to repeating and the next few generations can be (relatively
accurately) predicted.

Conclusion:

In the end, it was determined that when the hare population increases drastically, the lynx
population increases, then both drastically decrease. The first generation has a large number of
hare, followed by a generation of many lynx. The generation directly after that there are only
three hares and all of the lynx die. It starts over on the following generation.

What this means:

The lynx population relies directly upon the population of the hares. The lynx require the hares
to survive and they over populate at one time, leaving a minimal amount of the hares left. The
lynx all die until the hare population can grow to accommodate the population of the lynx.

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When it comes to the predator versus prey, they both rely on each other. The predator relies on
the prey to have sufficient population to accommodate their own population. The prey relies
on the predator to die off so that their population can regrow. The relationship is a stunted
direct relation. One generation after the lynx eat the hare, the lynx population dies. There are
not enough hares to keep all of the lynx alive. It then starts over and happens again

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