Predator/Prey

Relationships
Ms. Headley
 Objectives
• Identify Predator Prey relationships use example of terrestrial and Aquatic
Relationships.
• Outline the use of Predator Prey Relationships as Biological Control, with
the aid of examples.
• Outline Adaptations of the predator for catching prey.
• Outline Adaptations of the prey for evading the predator.
 Predator/Prey relationships
• A carnivore which stalks, catches, kills, eats another living organism is called a predator.
• The animal which is eaten by the predator is called the prey. Habitat Predator Prey
The predators cannot survive without prey. Terrestrial Hawk Snake
Snake Lizard
Lizard Grasshopper
An organism can however be a predator and prey.
Aquatic Tiger shark Barracuda
e.g. bird eats worms; bird eaten by hawk/man.
Barracuda Flying fish
Flying fish Zooplankton
 Adaptation of Predators
• They have highly developed sense of vision, smell and hearing.
Vision -Predators' eyes are placed towards front of head giving them 3-dimensional, binocular vision.
They also have big eyes. E.g., owls
Smell- longer snouts- more room for complex nasal passage. Reptiles by sticking out their tongue in
the air e.g. snake
e.g. wolf, fox, coyote,
Hearing- capable of swiveling their ears forward and back to pinpoint where sound is coming from
e.g. bats (they hear by sound waves when they hit something and bounce and cause an echo; known as
echolocation
 Hunting Strategies
Predators have various methods of tracking and killing prey.
Stalking e.g. cats – soft padded paws with retractable claws help them walk
silently
Sit and wait e.g. blue heron stand in shallow waters for small fish and frogs to
come near for hours.
Group hunting e.g. wolf packs Some predators hunt in groups taking
advantage of their numbers to take down an animal
 Physical Adaptations
• Teeth and claws- long, sharp claws and teeth specialized for tearing, shearing and cutting flesh.
Ensures prey is caught and can be eaten
• Jaws- very strong jaws to hold on to prey and well as crush meat and bones e.g. snake
• Strength- very strong to enable easy take down animals larger than themselves.
e.g. cougars can take down small deer, snakes can swallow animals 3x their size
• Special features- specialized body parts which help eat their food. e.g.. otters have webbed feet
and special oils which make their fur waterproof and enable them to catch food
• Intelligence-have larger brains than prey, their intelligence helps them outsmart their food. e.g.
crows and ravens (most intelligent birds)
• Speed- they move rapidly
 Adaptations of Prey
• Camouflage- is an adaptation which a species evolves to resemble its background. This is used by
both sides – prey use is to remain undetected by predators while predators use it to sneak up,
unseen to prey
• Camouflage can be of 3 kinds
1. Colour resemblance- an animals colour resembles the natural environment. E.g., snowshoe hare
changes whit in winter to blend with snow, changes brown when snow melts.
2. Counter shading- camouflage designed to hide an animal’s 3D form e.g. Mice – lighter on bellies,
darker on backs. When seen from a distance the 2 colours blend making it difficult to pick out the
animal's outline
3. Disruptive coloration- markings disguise the animal among surroundings. Animals with patterns,
spots, stripes or uneven patches use this as camouflage, E.g. zebra
• Prey animals often rely on their escape as their form of protection from predators.
Therefore, they have well developed sense of sight, hearing and smell.
• Sight- need all round vision to see advancing predators. Eyes located at side of
head to give wide field of vision.
• Hearing- well developed. Able to hear when predators are approaching before they
can see them. Can pick up the direction and run in the opposite of predator.
• Smell-well developed to detect predators from a great distance.
 Warning Signals
• Warning signals are used to scare away predators and to warn other animals.
1. Alarms- Prey make a lot of noise when they are attacked, hoping to scare
predator way or at least warn others.
2. Visual signals- some animals signal other visually e.g. showing a patch of
colour or hold its tail straight up. This signals danger is near.
e.g. skunk, rattlesnake, prairie dog
 Defensive weapons
• Special weapons-When an animal feels threatened it will defend itself with
weapons it has e.g. legs ,wings, hooves ,teeth, claws, antlers
e.g. porcupines and their quills.
• Chemical defense- some animals and insects have a chemical defense.
When attacked it spray, spit or squirt chemicals which can cause discomfort
or pain to the predator.
E.g. skunks produce a strong liquid called musk
 Speed
• Many animals rely on running away as their best defense.
 Behavioral
• Bluffing – Some animals fool the predator into thinking they are dangerous or
already dead or hurt e.g., opossum
Some copy behaviour of dangerous animals or have specialized body parts that look
dangerous. This is called Mimicry. Viceroy butterfly mimics the markings of the
Monarch butterfly which is bad tasting to birds
• Living in groups-Many animals live in groups so that there are more eyes and ears
to look out for predators, once in danger the entire group is altered so that they can
hide. E.g. meerkats
• Hiding- squirrels hide in tunnels underground
 How are predator/prey relationships biological
controls?
Despite the many defenses and forms of protection prey animals have, many are still caught and eaten by their predators.
To ensure that their species does not die out, prey animals produce more offspring than predators can eat.
The survival of a species depends on how often it reproduces. This is called POPULATION CONTROL
Animals that are caught often, such as rabbits, produce many offspring. Therefore , the easier an animal is to catch, the
more the offspring it will have. Thus, the predator-prey relationship is a natural check on population size and competition
for resources.
• e.g. snakes feed on rats; mongoose feed on snakes
Humans can use predator/prey relationships to control pests. This is known as BIOLOGICAL CONTROL. It involves
introducing a natural predator of the pest into the environment e.g. mongooses were introduced into Barbados to control the
snake population
 What is an invasive species?
• An invasive species is an introduced, nonnative organism (disease, parasite, plant, or
animal) that begins to spread or expand its range from the site of its original
introduction and that has the potential to cause harm to the environment, the
economy, or to human health.

• A few well-known examples include the unintentional introduction of the West Nile
virus, chestnut blight, the South American fire ant, zebra mussels, Burmese pythons,
and sea lamprey. These are in addition to the intentional introductions of salt cedar
(Tamarisk), kudzu vine, house sparrows, starlings, and nutria.
• Some introduced species may become invasive when they possess a built-in competitive advantage over
indigenous species in invaded areas.
• Under these circumstances, new arrivals can establish breeding populations and thrive, especially if the
ecosystem lacks natural predators capable of keeping them in check.
• The ecological disruption that tends to follow such invasions often reduces the ecosystem’s biodiversity and
causes economic harm to people who depend on the ecosystem’s biological resources.
• Invasive predators may be so adept at capturing prey that prey populations decline over time, and many prey
species are eliminated from affected ecosystems.
• Other invasive species, in contrast, may prevent native species from obtaining food, living space, or other
resources. Over time, invading species can effectively replace native ones, often forcing the localized
extinction of many native species
 Quick Summary
Predators have evolved characteristics to catch its prey such as
• Speed
• Stealth
• Camouflage
• Highly developed senses
• Sharp and piercing mouth part
• Poison to kill prey
• Immunity to prey’s poison
Prey have evolved characteristics to avoid being eaten such as
• Speed
• Camouflage
• Highly developed senses
• Rapid responses
• Poison
• Protective body covering
•
Activity 1
The graph in Figure 1 shows the growth of two populations of spider mites: one which feeds on
plants and one which is carnivorous and preys on the plant-eating spider mites.

1. Label on the graph the curve which represents the predator, using
the letter A.
2. Use the number of organisms and the shape of the curves to state
TWO reasons for your answer in 1.
 Answer
PREY

PREDATOR
2.
• Increase in prey numbers provides more food for predators so it triggers a
staggered or subsequent increase in predators.
• Predators can never be more than prey or prey population will go extinct.
• When predator population is high, prey population low
• Predator population low prey population high.