Question

Mention any two significant roles predation plays in nature.

Answer 1

Hint: Predation is a natural way of delivering energy to the higher levels of nutrients produced by plants. Predators help in maintaining the prey population under control. Predators play an important role in maintaining community structure, such as starfish and forest tigers, are known to be major predators.

Complete answer:
It is an interspecific interaction in which one animal, called a predator, kills and eats another weak animal called a prey. This is a biological control method.

Importance of predation:
-Predation can limit the spread or reduce the number of prey. If the prey is a pest, then we see that predation is beneficial. However, if the affected animal is a valuable resource, then the predator can be considered undesirable.
-Like competition, predation affects the biodiversity of a society.
-Predation is an important force of selection and many adaptations. There are many examples of coevolution of predators and prey, which form the ecological basis for the biological control of unwanted species. Predators have become more efficient at finding and catching prey, and reptile species have become more effective at preventing prey from being caught. The basic mechanisms of the dynamics of populations of predators and prey can be well understood by studying the interactions between predators and prey at the individual level.

Without predators, prey species can reach very high population densities, causing instability. Predators not only act as a conduit for the transfer of energy through nutritional levels, but also play a very important role in ensuring population stability. When some invasive species enter a specific area, they invade and spread rapidly as there are no natural predators on the attacked land. If predators are too efficient and exploit prey, the prey may disappear.

Note: Some species of insects and frogs are color coded (camouflaged) so that predators cannot easily spot them. Some of them are poisonous, so predators avoid them. Monarch butterflies are very hostile to predators (birds) due to the presence of special chemicals in their body. Butterflies receive this chemical during the larval stage by eating poisonous weeds. Some plants produce highly toxic chemicals such as cardiac glycosides, nicotine, caffeine, quinine, strychnine, and opiates. In fact, it is protection for pastures and browsers.