PPT Slide

• In the 1920s, A. J. Lotka (1925) and V. Volterra (1926) devised mathematical models representing host/prey interaction.

• The Lotka-Volterra curve assumes that prey destruction is a function not only of natural enemy numbers, but also of prey density, i.e., related to the chance of encounter.

• This model predicts the predator-prey oscillations sometimes seen in nature. Populations of prey and predator were predicted to flucuate in a regular manner (Volterra termed this "the law of periodic cycle").

• Lotka-Volterra model is an oversimplification of reality. In nature, many different factors affect the densities of predators and their prey.

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