Maternal effects on offspring consumption can stabilize fluctuating predator-prey systems.

ABSTRACT: Maternal effects, where the conditions experienced by mothers affect the phenotype of their offspring, are widespread in nature and have the potential to influence population dynamics. However, they are very rarely included in models of population dynamics. Here, we investigate a recently discovered maternal effect, where maternal food availability affects the feeding rate of offspring so that well-fed mothers produce fast-feeding offspring. To understand how this maternal effect influences population dynamics, we explore novel predator-prey models where the consumption rate of predators is modified by changes in maternal prey availability. We address the 'paradox of enrichment', a theoretical prediction that nutrient enrichment destabilizes populations, leading to cycling behaviour and an

SUBMITTER: Garbutt JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685778 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature