Everything about Predator Satiation totally explained
Predator satiation (less commonly called
predator saturation) is an
antipredator adaptation in which prey occur at high
population densities, reducing the probability of an individual organism being eaten.
When
predators are flooded with potential prey, they can only consume a certain amount, so by occurring at high densities prey benefit from a
safety in numbers effect. This strategy has evolved in a diverse range of prey, from trees to insects. Predator satiation can be considered a type of
refuge from predators.
As available food increases, a predator's rates of survival, growth and reproduction increase. However, as food supply begins to overwhelm the predator's ability to consume and process it, consumption levels off. This pattern is known as
functional response. There are also limits to population growth (
numerical response), dependent on the predator species'
generation time.
This phenomenon is particularly conspicuous when it takes the form of
masting, the production of large numbers of seeds by a population of plants.
In contrast to predator satiation, a different pattern is seen in response to
mutualistic consumers, which benefit an organism by feeding from it (for example
frugivores which disperse seeds). For example, a vine's berries may ripen at different times, ensuring frugivores are not swamped with food and so resulting in a larger proportion of its seeds being dispersed.
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