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A Fish-feeding Laboratory Bioassay to Assess the Antipredatory Activity of Secondary Metabolites from the Tissues of Marine Organisms
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Testing predator-prey theory using broad-scale manipulations and independent validation.

Robert Serrouya1, Bruce N McLellan2, Stan Boutin1

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada.

The Journal of Animal Ecology
|June 24, 2015
PubMed
Summary

Predator-prey theory was tested by manipulating moose populations. Depensatory predation, where predators increase impact as prey decline, best explained wolf-moose dynamics, with implications for conservation and harvest models.

Keywords:
Alleeadaptive managementcaribouconservationdepensatorylimitationmoosepredationregulationwolves

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Community Ecology
  • Population Dynamics

Background:

  • Ecological theory requires testing predictive accuracy across different systems.
  • Predation's impact on prey populations (compensatory, density-dependent, density-independent, depensatory) is crucial for community ecology.
  • Predator-prey dynamics influence species coexistence and equilibrium.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test predator-prey theory by assessing predation's nature on prey populations.
  • To evaluate if general ecological relationships can predict dynamics in a new system.
  • To determine if depensatory predation occurs in a wolf-moose system.

Main Methods:

  • An ecosystem-level experiment manipulated prey (moose) abundance over 6500 km(2).
  • Theoretical predictions from meta-analyses on wolves (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces alces) were applied.
  • Predation was assessed to determine if it was density dependent, independent, compensatory, or depensatory.

Main Results:

  • Depensatory predation by wolves on moose provided the best explanation for population dynamics.
  • This mechanism, though hypothesized, is rarely evaluated empirically.
  • Incorporating local data did not improve model predictions, indicating theory robustness.

Conclusions:

  • Depensatory predation is a critical factor in wolf-moose population dynamics.
  • Ecological theory, parameterized from meta-analyses, can be robust across different systems.
  • Harvest models must account for depensatory predation to prevent overestimation of sustainable yields and further population declines.