if the food resources are increased what will be the effect on the population of the predator

When food resources for the prey increase, the population of the predator generally tends to increase as well over time, because more food supports better survival and reproduction.

Basic idea

• More food for prey → prey population rises (more survive, more reproduce).

• With more prey available, predators find food more easily, so their survival rate and average number of offspring increase.

• After a short delay, this usually leads to an increase in predator population size.

So, in a typical exam-style answer:

If the food resources are increased, the population of the predator will increase (after some time), because more prey supports higher survival and reproduction of predators.

Slightly deeper (for marks)

In real ecosystems, there are a few possible nuances:

1. Predator increase is limited
   • Even if prey biomass goes up several times, predator numbers often rise by a smaller factor (for example, prey can increase 5× while predators only increase about 1.6×).

 * This is because predators have slower reproduction, territorial behavior, and other limiting factors.

2. Changes in predator behavior
   • Extra food (like human-provided waste or livestock) can concentrate predators in certain areas and increase their local abundance.

 * This may raise predation pressure on some prey species that happen to live near those food sources.

3. Exceptions / special cases
   • If the extra food benefits prey that are hard to catch or predator‑resistant, predator numbers may not increase as much, because energy is “locked” in prey the predators cannot use well.

One-line answer for your “Quick Scoop” box

Increasing food resources for the prey usually causes the predator population to increase , because abundant prey improves predator survival and reproduction, though the response is often delayed and not unlimited.

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If the food resources are increased what will be the effect on the population of the predator? Learn how more prey food typically boosts predator numbers, why the increase is delayed, and what real ecosystems and recent studies show about this classic predator–prey relationship.

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