This article demonstrates how perceptual constraints of predators and the possibility that predators encounter prey both sequentially (one prey type at a time) and simultaneously (two or more prey types at a time) may influence the predator attack decisions, diet composition and functional response of a behavioural predator-prey system. Individuals of a predator species are assumed to forage op...

Predator-prey interactions are important drivers in structuring ecological communities. However, despite widespread acknowledgement that individual behaviours and predator species regulate ecological processes, studies have yet to incorporate individual behavioural variations in a multipredator system. We quantified a prevalent predator avoidance behaviour to examine the simultaneous roles of p...

Cannibalism is ubiquitous in natural communities and has the potential to alter the functional relationship of predator–prey interactions. Although cannibalistic species are frequently subject to predation, the consequences of cannibalism in the prey for predator–prey interactions are poorly understood. Using a dragonfly larvae system, I provide the first experimental evidence that cannibalism ...

Question: It is well established that predators can influence the structure and dynamics of prey communities and that changes in prey communities can drive predator evolution. Here we ask whether changes in prey communities, brought on by the effects of predators, can feed back to mould the evolution of predator foraging traits. Study system: We sampled lakes in Connecticut (USA) containing eit...

Postprint This is the accepted version of a paper published in Community Ecology. This paper has been peer-reviewed but does not include the final publisher proof-corrections or journal pagination. Trophic links and the relationship between predator and prey body sizes in food webs. Access to the published version may require subscription. Abstract 1 The relationship between predator and prey b...

A predator-prey model with logistic growth in the prey is modified to include an SIS parasitic infection in the prey with infected prey being more vulnerable to predation. Thresholds are identified which determine when the predator population survives and when the disease remains endemic. For some parameter values the greater vulnerability of the infected prey allows the predator population to ...

A mathematical model describing the dynamics  of a  delayed  stage structure prey - predator  system  with  prey  refuge  is  considered.  The  existence,  uniqueness  and bounded- ness  of  the  solution  are  discussed.    All  the  feasibl e  equilibrium  points  are determined.  The   stability  analysis  of  them  are  investigated.  By  employ ing  the time delay as the bifurcation parame...

Prey in natural communities are usually shared by many predator species. How predators coexist while competing for the same prey is one of the fundamental questions in ecology. Here, we show that competing predator species may not only coexist on a single prey but even help each other to persist if they specialize on different life history stages of the prey. By changing the prey size distribut...

Growth is a critical ecological trait because it can determine population demography, evolution, and community interactions. Predation risk frequently induces decreased foraging and slow growth in prey. However, such strategies may not always be favored when prey can outgrow a predator's hunting ability. At the same time, a growing gape-limited predator broadens its hunting ability through time...

Predators can influence prey abundance and traits by direct consumption, as well as by non-consumptive effects of visual, olfactory, or tactile cues. The strength of these non-consumptive effects (NCEs) can be influenced by a variety of factors, including predator foraging mode, temporal variation in predator cues, and the density of competing prey. Testing the relative importance of these fact...