Today we’ll look at the population dynamics of coupled predator-prey systems:
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- Predator-prey interactions generate stable, linked cycles of both predator and prey
- The L-V model of predator prey dynamics assumes that prey are only limited by predation and that predators are dependent on prey as food source
- In these cycles the predator population always lags the prey population by 1/4 phase
- Intraspecific competition among prey generates damped oscillations that lead to stable population sizes of both predator and prey