Timeline for answer to If prey and predator switched places how would this shape the ecosystem? by Mark Olson
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 27, 2020 at 17:29 | vote | accept | CommunityBot | ||
| Jan 10, 2020 at 10:24 | comment | added | Borgh | I gather that the lions in this scenario will still have claws and canines? So if a giraffe manages to creep up on a lion (the mental image is hilarious) its going to have one hell of a time subdueing the now-angry kitty. | |
| Jan 10, 2020 at 7:54 | comment | added | Luaan | @alexgbelov I already said that - things are very different in water :) And of course, the ratio mostly fits land mammals - warmblooded animals. We "waste" a lot of energy just keeping our temperature constant, and our metabolism is very active. Reptiles have better ratios, as do insects and fish. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 23:03 | comment | added | Mark | @hszmv, most predators will eat other predators if the opportunity arises, but very few predators specialize on hunting other predators the way they specialize on hunting herbivores. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 19:06 | comment | added | alexgbelov | Just to be pedantic, in the ocean, the biomass of predators can actually be higher than the biomass of prey, since they prey (plankton) can grow really fast. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 18:46 | comment | added | Nuclear Hoagie | @Michael It sounds like you're describing total biomass, just in a different way. Creatures that reproduce and grow quickly replenish biomass lost to predation faster than slowly reproducing/growing creatures. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 17:40 | comment | added | hszmv | @Luaan: Not necessarily true on predators preying on other predators. Humans and Alligators are both apex predators in the same environment and both will eat each other (alligator meat is amazing, and they tend to prey on land animals). For most predators, meat is meat and few animals have defenses that make their meat unplaitable (The Sloth is one such animal, as the molds that grow on it's fur are terrible and no one wants to eat sloth). Because of the high energy demands carnivores have, they rarely will ignore free fresh meat. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 15:54 | comment | added | Damon | @Falco: Worry not about sensory organs, they've got much bigger problems. Predators, in particular felines, very closely follow the Jurassic Park Lysine Contingency. Except it's not lysine, but one or two dozen things. Felines are extremely bad at doing the least little thing themselves. No meat no be lucky. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 15:35 | comment | added | Michael | @Luaan: In the end it’s about conversion rates, not biomass. Carnivores require a certain amount of energy to survive. The energy comes from the sun and has to be processed by plants and herbivores. If your plants and/or herbivores grow very fast (and efficiently) they can sustain a relatively large group of carnivores. That’s why insects can be a good source of meat, because they grow fast and don't require much energy themselves. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 13:43 | comment | added | Luaan | @Matthew The ratio isn't about individuals, it's essentially about total biomass. For each kg of antellope mass, you need about 10kg of grass. Each kg of lion mass needs about 10kg of antellope mass. That's the primary reasons why predators who prey on other predators are almost non-existent on land (the math is very different in water, for many obvious and less obvious reasons). | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 13:31 | comment | added | Falco | @SRM on the other hand a lion does not have instincts or sensory organs to warn him of approaching predators. E.g. they sleep without much alertness when someone approaches, so the hungry giraffes would probably slaughter a pride of lions at night. | |
| Jan 9, 2020 at 0:56 | comment | added | SRM | The lions would still be around. The giraffes do not have the hunting abilities for offensive weapons. They are built to run away. The giraffes would mostly eat each other. | |
| Jan 8, 2020 at 20:39 | comment | added | Matthew | Pedantically: you don't need the number of herbivores to be X times as many as the carnivores. You need their birth rates to obey that relation. That is, for every predator born, X prey animals must be born. The number of prey animals actually alive at a given time can be less than X. In any case, however, you're going to have a disaster. | |
| Jan 8, 2020 at 19:03 | history | answered | Mark Olson | CC BY-SA 4.0 |