Title: ON THE INTERPLAY OF PREDATOR SWITCHING AND PREY EVASION IN DETERMINING THE STABILITY OF PREDATOR-PREY DYNAMICS
Abstract: Traditionally, predator switching has been assumed to be a stabilizing force in ecological systems. Recent work, however, has shown that predator switching can be either stabilizing or destabilizing. Most models of predator switching, to date, assume that prey are behaviorally passive and do not respond to predators. We allowed prey to respond behaviorally to predators, so as to avoid capture, in order to explore how this ecologically realistic addition modified the impact of predator switching upon population stability and persistence. We used an individual-based, spatially explicit model that described local interactions between predators and prey, with a probability that prey would sense predators in adjacent cells and move away from the predators. We compared the individual-based model to a simple difference equation model. We found that intermediate prey sensitivity in the individual-based model allowed the highest probability of persistence of the predator- prey system. By allowing prey sensitivit...
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-02-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 10
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