Predation

Terms:
stable population cycle, refugium, functional and numerical responses, total response, prey swamping effect, optimal foraging strategy

functional response: Describes how an individual predator responds to increases in prey numbers.  Usually described in one of three types of responses associated with an increased consumption rate by the predator.

numerical response: Describes how a predator population responds to increases in prey numbers by increasing immigration to an area and birth rates.

optimal foraging strategy: When a predator uses the minimum energy output for maximum energy gain under a given set of foraging conditions.

prey swamping effect: When prey numbers reach a point where the relative proportion being eaten by predators begins to decrease because the predator population has reached the limit of its functional and numerical responses.

refugium:  A region or place where a prey species can live and grow freely without predation. 

stable population cycle: When populations of predators and prey oscillate together through time without changing in a constant and predictable manner.

total response: Describes how a predator population responds to increasing prey numbers at both the individual (functional) and population (numerical) levels.