apex predator

Examples of apex predator in the following topics:

• Overharvesting

  • Overexploitation of species can also result in cascade effects, particularly if a habitat loses its apex predator.
  • Because of the loss of the top predator, a dramatic increase in their prey species can occur.

• Predation, Herbivory, and the Competitive Exclusion Principle

  • An animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals is called a predator.
  • Examples of predators include tigers, snakes, and hawks.
  • Predation is the hunting of prey by its predator.
  • This cycle of predator and prey lasts approximately 10 years, with the predator population lagging 1–2 years behind that of the prey population.
  • Mechanical defenses, such as the presence of thorns on plants or the hard shell on turtles, discourage animal predation and herbivory by causing physical pain to the predator or by physically preventing the predator from being able to eat the prey.

• Predator-Prey Systems

  • The rate of predation upon the prey is assumed to be proportional to the rate at which the predators and the prey meet; this is represented above by $\beta xy$.
  • If either $x$ or $y$ is zero, then there can be no predation.
  • In the predator equation, $\delta xy$ represents the growth of the predator population.
  • The predator population follows the prey population.
  • Identify type of the equations used to model the predator-prey systems

• Biological Magnification

  • One of the most important environmental consequences of ecosystem dynamics is biomagnification: the increasing concentration of persistent, toxic substances in organisms at each trophic level, from the primary producers to the apex consumers.
  • In some aquatic ecosystems, organisms from each trophic level consumed many organisms of the lower level, which caused DDT to increase in birds (apex consumers) that ate fish.
  • The apex consumer (walleye) had more than four times the amount of PCBs compared to phytoplankton.

• Dark-Field Microscopy

  • The light at the apex of the cone is focused at the plane of the specimen; as this light moves past the specimen plane it spreads again into a hollow cone.
  • When a sample is on the stage, the light at the apex of the cone strikes it.

• The Neopalatial Period

  • The apex of Minoan civilization occurred during the Neopalatial period, and lasted from 1700 to 1450 BCE.

• Plant Defenses Against Herbivores

  • Some metabolites are alkaloids, which discourage predators with noxious odors (such as the volatile oils of mint and sage) or repellent tastes (like the bitterness of quinine).
  • Mechanical wounding and predator attacks activate defense and protective mechanisms in the damaged tissue and elicit long-distancing signaling or activation of defense and protective mechanisms at sites farther from the injury location.
  • In addition, long-distance signaling elicits a systemic response aimed at deterring predators.
  • As tissue is damaged, jasmonates may promote the synthesis of compounds that are toxic to predators.
  • The spines on cactus plants are modified leaves that act as a mechanical defense against predators.

• Patella (The Knee)

  • The apex of the patella faces inferiorly and connects to the tibia tuberosity through the patella ligament that attaches to the anterior surface.

• Waxes

  • The leaves and fruits of many plants have waxy coatings, which may protect them from dehydration and small predators.

• The Minoans

  • The Protopalatial period of Minoan civilization (1900 to 1700 BCE) and the Neopalatial Period (1700-1450 BCE) saw the establishment of administrative centers on Crete and the apex of Minoan civilization, respectively.