The time-lag effect may lead to predator-prey oscillations.
Most predators do not respond instantaneously to the availability of prey and adjust their reproduction accordingly.
If predator populations grow faster than prey populations, they may overshoot the number of prey that are able to support them
This leads to a rapid decline in the prey, followed by a rapid decline in the predator.
Once the predator becomes rare, the prey population may begin growing again.
This pattern is called a predator-prey oscillation.