Biology Predator And Prey Google Docs

The table shows that the populations of the snowshoe hare and canadian lynx have cyclical fluctuations in their numbers. There are links between the two creatures and the numbers of the population of each species cycle as over the five year periods they either increase or decrease in numbers and you can spot a pattern between the two sets of figures for each year. They show these fluctuations because different events occur that result in there being a sharp increase or decrease in population numbers for a specific species. At one point factors mean that numbers rise for a period of 5-10 years and then drop to the original number or lower in the second period. Factors that make the numbers change could include a spreading disease through the population, perhaps then wiping out a large number of the species. Something that may increase the population numbers could be a rise in the amount of food available to them in their territory. This could be because of a high breeding season of the snowshoe hares for the lynxes or a growth in the availability of crops for the hares. However, the opposite of this may happen and the population of their prey or availability of their food source could drop, therefore affecting and decreasing the numbers in that specific species. For prey, in this case the hares, their numbers could drop due to an increase in their predators meaning more of them are required to supply for the needs of the predator. If there is competition for food for the Canadian
Lynx, and another species use hares to hunt in the same territory, then there will not be enough snowshoe hares to supply for both species. The effects of this will be a sharp decrease in the population of the snowshoe hares and also following that decrease are the lynxes with the high supply for hares and lack of food sources for the lynx. This could also apply to competition for water as this is an essential part of their survival. Changes in climate could result in a lower breeding