Essay Example: The Importance of Predator-prey Relationships for a Healthy Ecosystem

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing as one of your constituents to inform you about my concern about the importance of predator-prey relationships for a healthy ecosystem. I will specifically focus on the snowshoe hare, and its predators, and how human actions like population growth, increased energy consumption, and increased carbon dioxide use have interrupted that interaction. In this letter, I have proposed solutions that can reduce the impact humans have on predator-prey relationships. The proposed solutions can be achieved both locally and federally. I believe that you being our member of parliament, this issue will be of great interest to you and you will ensure that the solutions have been met. Thank you, and please put your interest in the people who elected you as their leader as you read the letter.

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Predator-prey relations can be defined as the interactions between two species where one species is the source of food for the other, and one is the hunter (Tyson & Lutscher, 2016). Therefore, it is logical that when the prey is many, their predators will rise in numbers, decreasing the prey population, which also leads to a decline in the predators in an ecosystem. In the case of the snowshoe hare and its predators, predator-prey can be necessary for a healthy ecosystem. For example, Predator-prey relationships are essential in our ecosystem since some help maintain and increase the biological diversity of the ecosystem and help keep the environment stable(Tyson et al., 2009). For instance, predator-prey relation helps keep one species under control by the species that hunt it as a food source. Therefore, without predator-prey relationships, some species would explode in number, making it difficult for the ecosystem to support such a large population.

The predator-prey relationships can help control climate changes and human activities such as drought, management of available resources, and urban developments. Predator-prey relation is also essential to the environment since it can be used to control diseases (Allan et al., 2013). For example, some predators that use human blood as prey and spread disease-causing viruses can be replaced with a new population incapable of spreading infections; thus, disseminating the disease. Based on the snowshoe hare model when the predator-prey relation changes due to climate or global changes on the ecosystem and the number of predator increases than the number of prey it may result to catastrophic consequences as the predators search for an alternative source of food available during the season (Tyson et al., 2009). The decrease in predator-prey and interaction relationships is mostly interrupted by human actions such as increased use of carbon dioxide released in the environment, thus killing the species (Allan et al., 2013). Therefore, predator-prey relationships are very significant for a healthy ecosystem since they help reduce the unhealthy, old, and sick species creating space for the healthy species. The predator-prey relationship affects the population dynamics of each species. An excellent example of how predator-prey relations affect each species’ population dynamics can be based on the prey relationship between snowshoe hare and the lynx. The hare is the source of food for the lynx, and without the hare, the lynx would die of hunger. However, as much as one species decrease, one species increase (Tyson et al., 2009). For example, as the population of the hare decrease, the lynx reproduces and expands.

Solutions to reduce the impacts human have on the predator-prey interactions

Unfortunately, human activities interrupt and interfere with the predator prey relationships, leading to the population decline of the predatory species (Miller & Spoolman, 2015). The predatory reduction may have significant consequences to the ecosystem depriving some species of the benefits of suitable environments due to overpopulation and hunger. Therefore, to reduce the impact humans have on predator-prey connections, the following must be done on both local and federal governments;

The government should regulate industries from releasing harmful gasses into the environment, causing global warming that affects predation.

The government should also regulate human habitats, the building of roads, and rails near the forests since they displace the prey and predators.

The reason I have decided to write to you is that you are my representative at the local government and to ask for your help to ensure that my proposals have been met, and actions taken to those who interfere with predator-prey relationships. Your assistance to help and take action will demonstrate your concern for the people who elected you in office and our environment.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

References

Allan, B. J., Domenici, P., McCormick, M. I., Watson, S.-A., and Munday, P. L. (2013). Elevated CO2 Affects Predator-prey Interactions through Altered Performance. PLoS ONE. 8:e58520. https://doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058520

Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S. E. (2015). Living in the Environment. Stamford, Conn.: Cengage Learning. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1041246506Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S. (2009). Living in the Environment: Principles, connections, and solutions. Belmont, Clif: Thomson Brooks/Cole. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1003622883

Tyson, R.L., & Lutscher, F. (2016). Seasonally Varying Predation Behavior and Climate Shifts Are Predicted to Affect Predator-Prey Cycles. The American naturalist, 188 5, 539-553. https://DOI:10.1086/688665

Tyson, R.L., Haines, S., & Hodges, K.E. (2009). Modeling the Canada Lynx and Snowshoe Hare Population Cycle: The Role of Specialist Predators. Theoretical Ecology, 3, 97-111. ). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-009-0057-1https://doku.pub/documents/nelson-biology-12pdf-30j71j2z320w