Dr. David Montagnes, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool
Wednesday 27th May, 4.00 p.m., Stacey Lecture Theatre 1
Predator-prey dynamics structure ecosystems, and most models assume predators grow by converting a set-percentage of ingested food into themselves and a set-percentage of the predator population dies at any one time; we fail to recognise that these percentages are influenced by the amount of prey available to the predator. Common sense (and our initial work) suggests that animals are more likely to die when food is scarce, and if there is more food they may be more efficient at converting it into themselves. I will explore these issues and how we will assess the complexities arising from prey-dependent conversion efficiency and mortality rate.
http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~pelagic/