Question

What component of the functional response limits the feeding rate of a predator at low prey abundance?

Answer 1

Answer: The typical shape of functional response of many predator species is that at low prey densities, predators spend most of their time on search, whereas at high prey densities, predators spend most of their time on prey handling. There are three types of functional responses viz. type I, type II and type III.

Type I: It is a linear increase in consumption rate as food densities rise, until reaching a maximum consumption rate. It generally has a stabilising effect on the population densities.

Type II: It states that the rate of prey consumption by a predator rises as prey density increases, but eventually levels off at a plateau (or asymptote) at which the rate of consumption remains constant regardless of increases in prey density