Explain the Predator-Prey Relationships ?

The feeding by a population of one species upon members of another species is referred to as predation. Many scientists also consider the eating of plants by animal species to be predation as well. At any rate, predation represents complex relationships between populations within a community. Predation is one of the driving forces of mortality within populations, and therefore can be an important factor in population growth, size and distribution.

Many examples abound in nature that demonstrate how closely coupled population size is to the predator-prey relationship. One well-known example is the relationship that is thought to exist between the snowshoe hare and the Canadian lynx, which feeds on the hare. The snowshoe hare populations have a natural cycle of variation. The lynx populations, which prey on the hares, mirror the hare variations in population size over time.

However, there is a time lag between the two population cycles, suggesting a food availability relationship in times of plentiful food (snowshoe hare), the numbers of lynx increase; a shortage of hares is associated with a drop in lynx after a period of time. However, recent research suggests that the lynx as predator is not the only factor in the variation of hare populations. Dietary considerations as well as other factors may also account for variations in population size.