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Handling time promotes the coevolution of aggregation in predator-prey systems
Sebastian J Schreiber1, Melanie Vejdani
1Department of Mathematics, Institute for Integrative Bird Behavior Studies, The College of William and Mary Williamsburg, PO Box 8795, VA 23187-8795, USA. sjschr@wm.edu
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|March 25, 2006
Summary
Predator handling time can stabilize predator-prey interactions by influencing coevolutionary patch preferences, leading to aggregation in heterogeneous environments. This has implications for biological control strategies.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Mathematical Biology
Background:
- Predators exhibit type II functional responses in variable environments.
- Spatial heterogeneity affects predator-prey life history traits and patch selection.
Purpose of the Study:
- Analyze how spatial heterogeneity and predator handling times influence coevolution of patch preferences and ecological stability.
- Investigate the impact of environmental variation on population dynamics and predation rates.
Main Methods:
- Ecological and evolutionary analysis of a Nicholson-Bailey type model.
- Derivation of an analytic expression for ecological stability.
Main Results:
- Coevolutionarily stable populations prefer patches supporting higher densities.
- Long predator handling times promote predator and prey aggregation.
- Predator handling time can stabilize predator-prey interactions via coevolved patch preferences.
Conclusions:
- Environmental variation and predator handling times shape spatial patterns of patch preferences and population dynamics.
- Predator handling time's stabilizing effect on predator-prey interactions challenges traditional ecological theory.
- Findings offer insights into optimizing biological control programs.
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