What is one example of a predator/prey interaction?

Some examples of predator and prey are lion and zebra, bear and fish, and fox and rabbit. The words “predator” and “prey” are almost always used to mean only animals that eat animals, but the same concept also applies to plants: Bear and berry, rabbit and lettuce, grasshopper and leaf.

What is the interaction like in a predator/prey relationship?

The predator prey relationship consists of the interactions between two species and their consequent effects on each other. In the predator prey relationship, one species is feeding on the other species. The prey species is the animal being fed on, and the predator is the animal being fed.

How does predation lead to the evolution of prey characteristics?

As predators reduce the number of prey, they become less satiated, raising the risk of capture for prey individuals. This increases the selection for resistance on the part of prey, which leads to a reduced predator population and selection to reduce costly defensive traits.

Are there fossils left by predators on their prey?

Despite numerous caveats and uncertainties, trace fossils left by predators on skeletons of their prey remain one of the most promising directions of research in paleoecology and evolutionary paleobiology. Alexander, R. R. 1981. Predation scars preserved in Chesterian brachiopods: probable culprits and evolutionary consequences for the articulates.

How to study the fossil record of predation?

The growing assortment of research strategies and goals has led to increasing differences in sampling strategies, types of data collected, definition of variables, and even reporting style. This methodological overview serves as a starting point for erecting some general methodological guidelines for studying the fossil record of predation.

How are fossils used in the fossil record?

I focus here on trace fossils left by predators in the skeleton of their prey, arguably one of the most powerful sources of direct data on predator-prey interactions available in the fossil record.