Non-native predatory fish, for instance, have sometimes devastated formerly dominant predators. Īpex predators affect prey species' population dynamics and populations of other predators, both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These include interactions via ecotourism, such as with the tiger shark, and through rewilding efforts, such as the proposed reintroduction of the Iberian lynx.Įcological roles Effects on community The great skua is an aerial apex predator, both preying on other seabirds and bullying them for their catches. More recently, humans have started interacting with apex predators in new ways. Humans have for many centuries interacted with apex predators including the wolf, birds of prey, and cormorants to hunt game animals, birds, and fish respectively. The apex predator concept is applied in wildlife management, conservation, and ecotourism.Īpex predators have a long evolutionary history, dating at least to the Cambrian period when animals such as Anomalocaris dominated the seas. Food chains are often far shorter on land, usually limited to being secondary consumers – for example, wolves prey mostly upon large herbivores (primary consumers), which eat plants (primary producers). Īpex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels. The great white shark (bottom) was originally considered an apex predator of the ocean however, the orca (killer whale, top) has proven to be a predator of the shark.Īn apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and the dominant predator throughout its range. The lion is the world's second-largest big cat and serves as an apex land predator in Africa. For other uses, see Apex predator (disambiguation).
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