how do predator populations mold prey populations?
153156
By eliminating weak individuals in the prey population and causing natural selection to play its role in population genetics.  \n\nI knows its a vague answer but  I can't remember all the fancy terminology in population ecology.
112604
Natural selection involves mechanisms such as competition or predation to kill off some members of a species, allowing members that have certain genetic traits that make them stronger or better-suited for survival, and those traits will be passed on to future generations of that species.
226331
If you have the book and the chapter reference, look these up:\n- ecological niche\n- intraspecific competition\n- resource partitioning\n- competitive exclusion\n\nEverything will be clearer then.
1104212
Owls and mice are in a relationship called a prey- preditor.  The number of owls are dependent on the number of mice.  If they eat all the mice they would run out of their primary food source.  This in turn would keep them from laying eggs and raising their young.  Their numbers would decrease.  Mice eat insects and plants.  So if they all disappear it would seem logical plants and insects would increase.  The ansewer is: increased owl population would cause a decrease in mice population which in turn would cause an increase in plant population or
1147082
Rabbits are the natural prey for numberous other animals.   Tortoises have almost no natural enemies.
734952
it's called population control...fits right in with natural selection!
1146663
Catfish aren't generally predators.... they try not to work too hard for a meal.  That's why an odorous or very bloody bait works so well.  The odor and the blood is a sign of an injured or dead prey. Dead fish usuaully make thier way to the bottom of a lake and are usually caught around or near areas of structure (submerged trees, edges of large grass and weed beds or clay shelves) where there are changing water patterns.  It kind of deposits the prey on the table for them.  Catfish tend to like feeding deep because it affords them the opportunity to give chase in the water if they have too without going far from thier regular hideouts.
72636
Well, here in Argentina they are eaten by birds of prey (eagles and such) and large carnivores such as cougars. \nOf course, when speaking of "natural enemies" we all tend to think of predators. But we all have other, smaller natural enemies: parasites (ticks, lice, worms) and diseases (rabies, hantavirus, etc).
708239
A good way to explain a food web is to have students create their own. When I was volunteering with a wildlife rehab center last summer, we did some educational programs at a local camp. Each of the students was given an element that would be in a food web, animals, plants, soil, the sun, etc. Then we would start with one of these, probably the sun is the easiest, and then go from there to show them how each depends on one another.
829593
All crustaceans are opportunistic in there feeding habits
257468
From an ecological-evolutionary viewpoint, a parasite is a "perfected predator", a predator that has evolved to extract resources from its host without killing it (and for some ecologists, grazing herbivores such as cows and gazelles are also parasites). \nParasites are usually much smaller than their hosts, and their particular characteristics depend on the type of parasite they are. For instance, endoparasites are much more modified and many have lost sensory or even digestive systems in favor of developing larger reproductive organs and producing lots of descendants. Ectoparasites are usually less modified with respect to their free-living relatives, but have structures and behaviors related to finding the host and remaining attached to it. \nObligate parasites are also more specialized than facultative (optional) parasites, and some species are specific parasites of a single host, while others are capable of parasitizing several species. All these different strategies involve diverse modifications, acquisitions and adaptations.\nEventually, parasites may become symbionts, by becoming gradually less damaging to their hosts and more specifically related with them.\nSee the first link for evolution of parasitism:
801273
Each ecosystem has what is called a "carrying capacity" for the organisms. This is where birth rate = deaths.\n\nThis is because organism's grow in number until the demand or limit of one (or more) factors for life become exceeded.\n\nSome factors are things like water, living space, nutrient source (food) and waste build up.\n\nPopulations can exceed the carrying capacity for a short time but eventually the limit of the environment brings the population back down.
1136529
Yes, all cephalopods are predators. The size of their prey depends on their size (or rather, the size of their "beak" and mouth).\n\nHere's a very small cute one (not much to do with the question, but it's beautiful):\nhttp://www.tonmo.com/images/content/basicocto1.jpg\n\nPS: I found this site with good information and also a photograph of the octopus beak :\nhttp://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/programs/expert/octopus/index.html
144067
More quickly. Big pieces of flesh are eaten by scavengers and predators, starting with sharks and large fish, moving all the way down to tiny fish and plankton. When they're pretty clean, they sink and break down normally. \n\nGood Luck with the murder plot! (just kidding)
808846
hunting  predators  !  Being   spotted  and ambushed   can be fairly easy. That is exotica to onlookers' eyes  to have gotten to learn  by seeing  how  a  primitive  performance  will  have  looked  like .
686578
Predator,technically.They're poisionous,so it kinda cuts down on natural enemies.
1020218
To evolve and survive. The process is called metamorphosis.