Based on the class data, rank the most frequently consumed prey for the class “owl population”.
The most frequently consumed predator in body mass would be the rat, with about 40% of the biomass an owl eats. However, while there were only 31 rats, there were 88 voles followed by 82 mice. Therefore, in numbers voles and mice far exceed the rats although the rats’ biomass is larger, the vole coming in first with 88 place and the mice in second with 82.
A predator expends energy when hunting for food. Which is the more “energy expensive” cuisine, 35 insects at 1 g each or one 35 g vole?
You would have to fly around a lot, sneak up slowly, get sweaty and use up a lot of energy to find 35 insects to eat. However, to find a vole all you would need is a sharp sweep and you have breakfast. Although eating 35 one gram insects and one 35 gram vole might give you the same amount of energy, it is a lot more energy consuming to catch 35 insects than to catch one vole. Therefore, it would be better and a lot less sweaty for the owl if it had fresh vole for breakfast rather than 35 insects.
Based on your data, suppose the shrew population seriously declined. Would it affect the areas owl population?
The shrew only made up 1% of the biomass of the owl’s diet, so I don’t think that the owls would cry that much over their disappearance. If there really were no shrews left at all, then the owl population might start feeding more on the birds, mice, voles, and rats, but since it’s only a matter of 1% it wouldn’t really change any of these populations majorly.
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