Learning Objectives
12.3.1 Know how to model predator and prey population cycling.
12.3.2 Describe the factors that affect whether predator-prey populations cycle.
We introduced population cycles in Chapter 10 (see Figure 10.10), and in the Case Study at the opening of this chapter, we described the most famous one of all: the hare-lynx cycle.
Cyclic fluctuations in abundance are one of the most intriguing patterns in nature. After all, what could cause populations to change so considerably in size over time, yet in such a regular manner? We will return to the mechanisms that underlie the hare-lynx cycle in the Case Study Revisited, but first we'll describe some insights into the causes of population cycles that have come from models, experiments, and field observations of predator-prey interactions.
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