Encounter Probabilities and Community Structure in Zooplankton: a Mathematical Model
- 1 January 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
- Vol. 34 (1) , 73-82
- https://doi.org/10.1139/f77-008
Abstract
Predator-prey interactions between swimming animals of the zooplankton are studied in a mathematical model. The assumptions are: the animals are points in a 1 m3 homogeneous space; the animals move at random and are randomly distributed; and the predator animal has an encounter radius given by its sensory system. The mathematics of encounter probabilities are developed for a 3-dimensional space. The results show 2 optimal strategies: cruising predators which prey upon slow moving animals (herbivores), and ambush (nonmoving) predators which prey upon fast cruising prey. Of the variables used (population densities, speeds of the 2 animal species and encounter radius) the encounter radius has the greatest influence on the encounter probabilities. The results suggest a simple community structure and point to the importance of studies on liver zooplankton.This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
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