Reversed predator-prey cycles are driven by the amplitude of prey oscillations.

ABSTRACT: Ecoevolutionary feedbacks in predator-prey systems have been shown to qualitatively alter predator-prey dynamics. As a striking example, defense-offense coevolution can reverse predator-prey cycles, so predator peaks precede prey peaks rather than vice versa. However, this has only rarely been shown in either model studies or empirical systems. Here, we investigate whether this rarity is a fundamental feature of reversed cycles by exploring under which conditions they should be found. For this, we first identify potential conditions and parameter ranges most likely to result in reversed cycles by developing a new measure, the effective prey biomass, which combines prey biomass with prey and predator traits, and represents the prey biomass as perceived by the predator. We show that p

SUBMITTER: van Velzen E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6024131 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature