Predator - Prey Relationships

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

from the host on which it feeds and the predator derives nourishment
from the prey on which it feeds(Nitecki 1983). Parasitism is different from
most normal predator prey situations because many different parasites can feed
off of just one host but very few predators can feed on the same prey(1973). In
parasite-host relationships most commonly the parasite is smaller than the host.
This would explain why many parasites can feed off of one single host. Another
difference in parasite-host relationships is that normally the parasite or group
of parasites do not kill the host from feeding, whereas a predator will kill it’
s prey(1983). Efficient parasites will not kill their host at least until their
own life cycle has been completed(1973). The ideal situation for a parasite is
one in which the host animal can live for a long enough time for the parasite to
reproduce several times(Arms 1987).
Parasites fall under two different categories according to where on ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

with a specific population of hosts(1975). An example of these
ramifications would be the onset of the plague.
Many parasites are unsuccessful and have a difficult time finding food
because appropriate hosts for certain parasites may be hard to find(1987). To
compensate for low survival rates due to difficulty in finding a host, many
parasites will lay thousands or millions of eggs to ensure that at least some of
them can find a host and keep the species alive(1987). The majority of young
parasites do not find a host and tend to starve to death. Parasites are also
unsuccessful if they cause too much damage to their host animal(1987).
Parasites are what is called host specific, this ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: