BIL 330 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Mesopredator, Haida Gwaii, Metapopulation
Document Summary
Mesopredators: relatively small carnivores that consume herbivores (e. g. , coyotes, weasels, feral cats). Australians have reduced the abundance of dingoes and feral dogs because they are top predators of sheep. Removal of these top predators has led to an increase of red fox mesopredators, which eat three times the number of sheep as dingoes and feral dogs. Herbivores can have substantial effects on the species they consume. Klamath weed, which is native to europe and toxic to livestock, was introduced to california in the early 1900"s. In the 1950"s, biologists introduced a leaf-feeding beetle that consumed the weed. Biologists estimate that the beetle has now eliminated 99% of the klamath weed population in north america. The effects of herbivores may be seen by fencing areas or removing herbivores to prevent grazing. The synchrony of population cycles between consumers and the populations they consume suggests that these oscillations are the result of interactions between them.
