University:
Texas A&M University
Course:
BIOL 107 | Zoology
Academic year:

2020
Views:

68

Pages:

3
Author:

slypery5hy

Predator-Prey Activity - KEY The bobcat is a predatory cat common in the United States. Bobcats are carnivores: they eat rabbits, other small rodents, birds, and deer. In many northern states, the bobcat’s favorite food is the snowshoe hare. This activity looks at how populations of bobcats and hares interact over time. Look at the first figure and observe how the population of hares changes and how the population of bobcats changes: What happened to the snowshoe hare population in April, May, and June? The snowshoe hare population greatly increased in April, May, and June What happened to the bobcat population in April, May, and June? The bobcat population increased slightly in April, May, and June What happened to the snowshoe hare population in July? The hare population in July decreased greatly (crashed) in July What happened to the bobcat population in July? The bobcat population kept increasing in July, but at a slower rate than in April, May, and June What do you think will happen to the population of both species in August, September, October, and November? Look at the second figure and observe how the population of hares changes and how the population of bobcats changes: What happened to the populations in the later months? The bobcats decreased, and the hares increased. Did the population numbers of the predators affect the numbers of prey? As the bobcat population increased, the hare population stopped increasing and crashed. Did the population numbers of prey affect the numbers of the predators? As the hare population increased, the bobcat population increased as well, delayed slightly after the increase of the hares. What do you think caused these changes? As the prey population increases, there is more food for the predators, so predators increase. When the predators increase, there are more of them to eat the prey, until the prey species begins to decline under the predatory stress. When the prey declines, there is not as much food for the predators, so the predatory species declines until the prey population recovers and the cycle begins again