Patterns of predation in a diverse predator–prey system
Abstract
There are many cases where animal populations are affected by predators and resources in terrestrial ecosystems, but the factors that determine when one or the other predominates remain poorly understood. Here we show, using 40 years of data from the highly diverse mammal community of the Serengeti ecosystem, East Africa, that the primary cause of mortality for adults of a particular species is determined by two factors--the species diversity of both the predators and prey and the body size of that prey species relative to other prey and predators. Small ungulates in Serengeti are exposed to more predators, owing to opportunistic predation, than are larger ungulates; they also suffer greater predation rates, and experience strong predation pressure. A threshold occurs at prey body sizes of approximately 150 kg, above which ungulate species have few natural predators and exhibit food limitation. Thus, biodiversity allows both predation (top-down) and resource limitation (bottom-up) to act simultaneously to affect herbivore populations. This result may apply generally in systems where there is a diversity of predators and prey.
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Carnivore prey preferences are largely determined by the size of their prey.
“Antelopes were grouped based on size, as carnivore prey preferences are largely determined by the size of their prey (Kruuk and Turner 1967;A. R. Sinclair et al. 2003).”
From A Food Web Model of the Serengeti: Stability, Dynamics and Indirect Effects (2026) · cites this paper as A. R. Sinclair et al. 2003
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A Food Web Model of the Serengeti: Stability, Dynamics and Indirect Effects
Clarke, D., Hopcraft, J. G. C., & Haydon, D. T. (2026) · African Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/aje.70115
- Authors
- Sinclair, A. R. E., Mduma, S., & Brashares, J. S.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TZ)
- Corresponding author
- Sinclair, A. R. E.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2003-09
- Volume
- 425
- Issue
- 6955
- Pages
- 288-290
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1978170239
- Cited by
- 854
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 72 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 47 · 2015: 41 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 37 · 2012: 35
- FWCI
- 11.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Keywords
- predation, predator-prey interactions, predator diversity, prey diversity, body size, ungulates, top-down control, bottom-up control, food limitation, resource constraints, biodiversity, Serengeti, mammal communities
- MeSH terms
- Africa, Eastern, Animals, Body Weight, Food, Mammals, Population Dynamics, Predatory Behavior, Ecosystem, Food Chain
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