Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Modeling direct positive feedback between predators and prey.

David H Brown1, Howard Ferris, Shenglei Fu

  • 1Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8633, USA. dhbrown@ucdavis.edu

Theoretical Population Biology
|February 10, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Predators can stabilize food webs by enhancing prey resource acquisition, challenging traditional ecological theories. This positive feedback mechanism can prevent destabilizing oscillations from enrichment and create multiple stable states.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Interactive canopy nitrogen and water additions delay phenology in a warm-temperate forest.

Journal of advanced research·2026
Same author

The impact of microplastics on soil micro-food webs is regulated by biochar and earthworms.

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety·2026
Same author

Global environmental changes threaten the feeding activity of soil detritivores.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same author

Nitrogen addition substantially affects plant phenology in terrestrial ecosystems: a meta-analysis.

Frontiers in plant science·2025
Same author

Underappreciated role of canopy nitrogen deposition for forest productivity.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest.

Frontiers in plant science·2025

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Theoretical Ecology
  • Food Web Dynamics

Background:

  • Traditional food web theory posits that enrichment is destabilizing.
  • Predator-prey interactions are often viewed through a negative feedback lens.
  • Positive impacts of predators on prey are less explored but ecologically significant.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model a simple food web with predator-mediated positive feedback on prey resource acquisition.
  • To investigate the stabilizing or destabilizing effects of this positive feedback under different functional forms.
  • To explore consequences for food web stability, equilibria, and population dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a mathematical model for a three-trophic level food web (resource, consumer, predator).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Incorporation of predator-driven positive feedback on consumer resource acquisition.
  • Analysis of two feedback scenarios: saturating function of predator density and proportionality to encounter rate.

    • Main Results:

    • Positive feedback from predators to consumers was found to be stabilizing, delaying or preventing oscillations caused by enrichment.
    • The model demonstrated that positive feedback can lead to an Allee effect for predators, resulting in multiple stable equilibria.
    • Strong positive feedback produced counterintuitive outcomes, including transient increases in consumer density and resource depletion upon predator introduction or enrichment.

    Conclusions:

    • Predator-mediated positive feedback can stabilize otherwise unstable food webs, contradicting some classical ecological predictions.
    • The presence of positive feedback introduces complex dynamics, including multiple stable states and potential Allee effects for predators.
    • Understanding these positive interactions is crucial for accurate ecological modeling and predicting ecosystem responses to environmental changes.