Food Webs Case Study: Predator-Prey Relationship In Ecological Community
Food Web Case Study
University of Phoenix
Oscar Robertson
MTH 221
Donovan Hawkins
04/06/2015
In this case study, we will explore different math techniques used in order to demonstrate the predator-prey relationship in an ecological community. These math techniques are primarily used today in information technology to solve problems that present themselves such as those of efficiency. These problems can be solved by using graph theory, showing the relationship between different sets and subsets. In Food Webs, the sets will be the animals and their relationships to one another. There are different concepts that incorporate the food webs case study such as competition, boxicity, and trophic status.
When it comes to competition, what the graph shows us are the different methods in which two different animals can coexist in their environment. It comes down to the availability of resources such as food availability, PH balance and the temperature. When we look at a competition graph, we see the different animals and plants and how they compete against each other to obtain those resources. The graph also explains how in an environment, different species will pray on each other, but even given this fact they can still coexist. When we narrow down the …show more content…
For example a great white shark and an orca compete for a seal. There will be a vertex for all three of those species and two vertices will be joined by an undirected edge since it will represent their common prey. The seal has a prey which is fish and it can be shared as a common prey as well by the shark and the
University of Phoenix
Oscar Robertson
MTH 221
Donovan Hawkins
04/06/2015
In this case study, we will explore different math techniques used in order to demonstrate the predator-prey relationship in an ecological community. These math techniques are primarily used today in information technology to solve problems that present themselves such as those of efficiency. These problems can be solved by using graph theory, showing the relationship between different sets and subsets. In Food Webs, the sets will be the animals and their relationships to one another. There are different concepts that incorporate the food webs case study such as competition, boxicity, and trophic status.
When it comes to competition, what the graph shows us are the different methods in which two different animals can coexist in their environment. It comes down to the availability of resources such as food availability, PH balance and the temperature. When we look at a competition graph, we see the different animals and plants and how they compete against each other to obtain those resources. The graph also explains how in an environment, different species will pray on each other, but even given this fact they can still coexist. When we narrow down the …show more content…
For example a great white shark and an orca compete for a seal. There will be a vertex for all three of those species and two vertices will be joined by an undirected edge since it will represent their common prey. The seal has a prey which is fish and it can be shared as a common prey as well by the shark and the