Individual Variability

Abstract

Abstract Predator–prey interactions are central to our understanding of adaptive evolution and community ecology. A growing body of research indicates that predation risk and prey selection can be highly variable from one individual to another; nonetheless, individual variability both within predators and within prey is still classically ignored when attempting to model predator–prey dynamics. This chapter explores how our current knowledge of the factors shaping prey selection and predation risk relate to current modelling approaches of predator–prey dynamics. It also discusses how dismissal of inherent individual heterogeneity in predator–prey interactions may be impacting our ability to advance food web theory as well as our understanding of evolutionary trajectories in predator and prey populations. It finally reviews possible methodological frameworks that could help integrate individual variability into the modelling of predator–prey interactions.