In nature, prey have to handle risk from multiple predators simultaneously and predators have to compete with each other for access to prey. One of the primary issues faced by researchers examining at these relationships is the complexity of natural communities. Due to the logistical challenges of observing or experimentally manipulating large, wide-ranging species, we have a poor understanding of how these pathways operate in natural systems. Indirect pathways operate when predators induce risk-mitigating behaviors in prey, changing where and how prey interact with their landscape. Fewer prey translates into decreased impact on their community. Directly, predators reduce the number of prey by consuming individual prey animals. Predators shape ecosystems by modifying the dynamics of their prey directly and indirectly. It is becoming increasingly important to understand these trophic connections in order to conserve functional ecological relationships or predict the ecosystem-wide consequences if these interactions disappear. The relationships between predators and prey play an important role in structuring ecological communities, with predators influencing the dynamics of their prey in ways that cascade through ecosystems to affect processes such as productivity, biodiversity, nutrient cycling, disease dynamics, carbon storage, and more. ![]() When predators go extinct, we lose not only the species itself, but also the ecological relationships between that species and other members of its community (a process known as “trophic downgrading”). Large apex predators are being driven towards extinction at an alarming rate: due to their unique biology, these carnivores are often the first species to succumb to anthropological pressures. Predator-prey interactions in complex communities Disentangling predator-prey interactions and restoring functional ecological relationships
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