apparent competition and the differing effects of generalist and specialist predators on cervid populations
abstract
apparent competition is an important ecological function that has been extensively
studied in wild cervid populations, but little is known about how to manage it or why
some cervid populations are more affected by it than others. this meta-analysis attempts
to give insight about how much numerical response to increases in competing alternate
prey occurs for a generalist (canis lupus) or specialist (puma concolor) predator. the
rate of change (λ) and survival rate of cervid prey populations affected by apparent
competition were extracted from multiple studies and it was found that there was little to
no difference in either parameter for the populations hunted by the two different
predators. this suggests that more factors, like the habitat in the areas inhabited by
multiple predators, need to be researched to obtain a clear understanding of the theory
involving apparent competition.
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- undergraduate theses [325]