Predation

How it works

Risks & contraindications

Comparisons

Evidence quality

Highlighted claims

• Predation creates a feasibility threshold for large-bodied herbivores. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• Under the contemporary predator-prey mass relationship and high predation intensity, the model produces a transcritical bifurcation at a herbivore mass of 2.58 x 10^6 g. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• Reducing predation intensity raises the herbivore threshold to approximately the size of the largest extinct terrestrial herbivores. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• The predation model uses fixed predator density rather than explicit predator dynamics, limiting its ability to capture short-term ecological complexity. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• The largest mammalian predators were likely generalists rather than strict specialists on the largest herbivores. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna