Predator Ecology

Description

Predator-prey interactions are ubiquitous, govern the flow of energy up trophic levels, and strongly influence the structure of ecological systems. They are typically quantified using the functional response - the relationship between a predator's foraging rate and the availability of food.

• Focuses on the evolutionary ecology of functional responses, seeking to understand their origin, variation, and effects on ecological communities
• Provides a simple and clear explanation of mathematical concepts, integrating theory with empirical data and enriched with computer code and practical assignments for students
• Covers multiple taxa and implements a wide range of approaches
• Unifies a diverse terminology and wide range of biological descriptions

About the Author(s)

John P. DeLong, Professor of Biology and Director, Cedar Point Biological Station, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Cedar Point Biological Station, USA

John P. DeLong is Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Director of Cedar Point Biological Station. He got his start in predator biology working with migratory raptors in New Mexico, going on to spend 14 years in migration research. Eventually he began studying predatory protists, copepods, mammalian carnivores, and spiders as well. The author has taught a course on Predator Ecology annually since 2013, using the functional response as the core concept of the course. The course provides valuable opportunities for students to estimate functional responses and conduct, in many cases, their first real research. He has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles, many involving predators of some kind.

Table of Contents

Prologue
1:Introduction
2:The Basics and Origin of Functional Responses Models
3:What Causes Variation in Functional Response Parameters
4:Population Dynamics and the Functional Response
5:Multi-Species Functional Responses
6:Selection on Functional Response Parameters
7:Optimal Foraging
8:Detecting Prey Preferences and Prey Switching
9:Origin of the Tpe III Functional Response
10:Statistical Issues in the Fitting of Functional Responses
11:Challenges for theFuture of Functional Response Research
Epilogue

Reviews

"The book will be a welcome resource for new and experienced researchers of a topic in which, despite its regular appearance in textbooks and decades of scientific debate decades, it remains difficult to reconcile theory with field ecology." - Conservation Biology

"This textbook provides a comprehensive review of the topic and explains the key equations and concepts. The book will be a welcome resource for new and experienced researchers of a topic in which, despite its regular appearance in textbooks and decades of scientific debate decades, it remains difficult to reconcile theory with field ecology." - Journal of Conservation Biology

"The book is very much worth reading and should belong into the library of any Ecology & Evolution department or person interested in feeding ecology, trophic interactions, and consumer-resource dynamics." - Arne Schröder, Basic and Applied Ecology

"The book is very much worth reading and should belong into the library of any Ecology & Evolution department or person interested in feeding ecology, trophic interactions, and consumer-resource dynamics." - Arne Schröder, Basic and Applied Ecology