Size-selective-predation

Guides

• Ageneotettix deorum

  white-whiskered grasshopper, white whiskers grasshopper, sand grasshopper

  Ageneotettix deorum is a medium-sized slant-faced grasshopper widely distributed across North American grasslands. It is frequently the dominant species in mixedgrass and bunchgrass prairie outbreaks, reaching densities of 25 adults per square yard. The species exhibits early-season hatching with nymphal development spanning 40–48 days. Adults are ground-dwelling, diurnal herbivores that feed on grasses and ground litter. Population dynamics show sensitivity to weather and predation, with outbreaks typically building over 3–5 years followed by sudden crashes.

  grasshopperslant-facedrangeland-pestmixedgrass-prairieearly-hatchingground-dwellingwolf-spider-preysize-selective-predationoutbreak-speciesAulocarini

• Epischura lacustris

  Epischura lacustris is a predatory calanoid copepod in the family Temoridae. It inhabits freshwater lakes across northeastern North America, including all five Great Lakes. The species exhibits size-selective predation on small zooplankton, particularly Bosmina longirostris, and has been observed to consume both phytoplankton and animal prey. It can be distinguished from other Great Lakes calanoids by three stout caudal setae on each caudal ramus and a noticeably bent urosome in mature specimens.

  copepodzooplanktonpredatorGreat-Lakesfreshwateromnivoresize-selective-predationTemoridaeCalanoida

• Gammarus pseudolimnaeus

  Northern Spring Amphipod

  Gammarus pseudolimnaeus is a freshwater amphipod crustacean inhabiting lotic (flowing water) environments in North America. The species exhibits complex behavioral ecology, including size-selective predation vulnerability to fish predators such as brook trout and sculpins, and chemically-mediated responses to predation risk that influence reproductive behavior. Population dynamics are characterized by univoltine (single annual) generation cycles with high mortality during early life stages and winter periods. The species serves as an important prey item in stream food webs and has been extensively studied as a model organism for freshwater invertebrate ecology, toxicology, and predator-prey interactions.

  freshwaterloticamphipodpredator-preybehavioral-ecologytoxicologyunivoltineNorth-Americamodel-organismstream-ecologysize-selective-predationchemical-ecologyparasitismacanthocephalacopper-toxicitymate-guardingcalceolimicrohabitat-selectionthigmotaxisdiel-activityseasonal-dynamicsproduction-ecologydriftbrook-troutsculpinOntarioVirginiaGammaridaecrustaceaninvertebratesenticaudataBousfield-1958Northern-Spring-Amphipod