The apex predator concept is applied in wildlife management, conservation, and ecotourism.Īpex predators have a long evolutionary history, dating at least to the Cambrian period when animals such as Anomalocaris dominated the seas. Food chains are often far shorter on land, usually limited to being secondary consumers – for example, wolves prey mostly upon large herbivores (primary consumers), which eat plants (primary producers). Īpex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels. The great white shark (bottom) was originally considered an apex predator of the ocean however, the orca (killer whale, top) has proven to be a predator of the shark in some areas.Īn apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and the dominant predator throughout its range. The lion is the world's second-largest big cat and serves as an apex land predator in Africa. For other uses, see Apex predator (disambiguation).
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