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Why are there so few predators compared to the prey animals they hunt?In: Animal Life |
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Balance within the food web
Each predator has to kill many prey animals a year to survive and the prey animals have to be numerous enough to reproduce and survive. Too few prey animals and the predators starve to death. In a healthy ecosystem predators and prey reach a balance so that there are always enough prey animals to continue reproducing. This ensures a permanent supply of food for the predators. If the predators over-hunt the prey animal, the population of prey will decline causing the predators to starve.
First answer by Alcyone. Last edit by LauraFrog. Contributor trust: 197 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 53 [recommend question]
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