Number Of Prey Research Articles

Eurasian Goshawk nesting in relation to prey numbers in Telemark, southern Norway

Cover photo: Eurasian Goshawk Accipiter gentilis eating a Hooded Crow Corvus cornix. Photo: Kjetil Salomonsen. In southern Norway, the breeding density of Eurasian Goshawk Accipiter gentilis has typically ranged between 2–4 pairs per 100 km2. However, not all territorial pairs attempt to nest each year. In a ca. 2000 km2 forest-dominated study area in central parts of Telemark County, the highest number of nesting attempts recorded per year during 1991–2022 was 46, and the highest number of successful nesting attempts was 40. The nesting success of Goshawks increased with age and was 66.7% for juveniles (n = 12), 79.3% for subadults (n = 82) and 89.4% for adult females (n = 736). The annual proportion of young Goshawk females (juveniles and subadults) depended on the annual proportion of recorded replacements of old females and was positively related to mean temperatures in April. The annual proportion of recorded substitutions was positively correlated with population indices of several important prey species, particularly forest grouse, and without a time-lag. In a multiple regression model, the relative change in the recorded number of Goshawk nesting attempts, compared to the previous year, was positively correlated with a population index for thrush spp. and a combined index for Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus and Hooded Crow Corvus cornix, without a time-lag, and with a combined index for Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus and Black Grouse Lyrurus tetrix, with a one-year time-lag. The one-year time-lag with grouse was most evident when only successful nesting attempts were considered. We conclude that the breeding densities of Goshawk in Telemark are rather stable, and we conclude that annual variation in the number of recorded nesting attempts to a large extent reflects the effects of variation in prey density on the body condition of female Goshawks.

A Predator–Prey System with a Modified Leslie–Gower and Prey Stage Structure Scheme in Deterministic and Stochastic Environments

The evolution of the population ecosystem is closely related to resources and the environment. Assuming that the environmental capacity of a predator population is positively correlated with the number of prey, and that the prey population has a sheltered effect, we investigated a predator–prey model with a juvenile–adult two-stage structure. The dynamical behaviour of the model was examined from two distinct environmental perspectives, deterministic and stochastic, respectively. For the deterministic model, the conditions for the existence of equilibrium points were obtained by comprehensive use of analytical and geometric methods, and the local and global asymptotic stability of each equilibrium point was discussed. For the stochastic system, the effect of noise intensity on the long-term dynamic behavior of the population was investigated. By constructing appropriate Lyapunov functions, the criteria that determined the extinction of the system and the ergodic stationary distribution were given. Finally, through concrete examples and numerical simulations, the understanding of the dynamic properties of the model was deepened. The results show that an improvement in the predator living environment would lead to the decrease in the prey population, while more prey shelters could lead to the decline or even extinction of predator populations.

Feeding habits of a small demersal fish: Longfinned dwarf sea bass, Dules auriga (Teleostei: Serranidae), from the Southwest Atlantic

Dules auriga is a small, endemic and demersal species that occurs in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SWA). Knowledge of the trophic ecology of this species will be essential to understanding its role as predator in this marine region. The aim of this study was to determine the diet composition, feeding strategy, and trophic level of D. auriga in the coastal waters off Uruguay and northern Argentina (34° – 41°S). A total of 309 individuals ranging from 81 to 174 mm total length (TL) were analyzed. Dules auriga fed mainly on polychaetes (50.04 % prey-specific index of relative importance, %PSIRI), followed by amphipods (16.32 % PSIRI), brachyuran crabs (10.76 % PSIRI), and echinoderms (10.36 % PSIRI). Relationships between the number of prey and maturity stage, TL, region, and season were evaluated using a multiple hypothesis modeling approach. Echinoderms consumption was higher in the south region, whereas amphipods and polychaetes were higher in the north region. Brachyuran crabs were more consumed in the cold season. The consumption of echinoderms increased with increasing body size of D. auriga. On the other hand, the consumption of amphipods decreased with body size. Polychaetes were more preyed by mature individuals than immature individuals. The size of the brachyuran crabs consumed not increased with increasing body size of D. auriga, but it was registered a continued inclusion of narrow range size of this prey in the diet. The analysis of the feeding strategy indicates a specialization on polychaetes. The specific trophic level was 3.24, indicating that D. auriga is a secondary consumer. This comprehensive investigation enhances understanding of trophic dynamics of D. auriga, providing a foundation for future ecological investigations in the SWA.

Influencia del uso de refugios por las presas en el modelo de depredación de Volterra

In various previous works, different predation models have been analyzed considering the use of refuge by the prey population, without carrying out an exhaustive analysis of its dynamics. In some of them it is stated that the use of shelters or dens by a fraction of the prey population has a stabilizing effect on predator-prey interaction. One of the objectives of this work is to show that some of these new systems considering refuge may have the same topological portrait in the phase plane as the original; but in others the dynamics change strongly. In our research we will introduce modifications to the well-known Volterra model, considering various ways to express the number of prey in refuge. In several of them, local dynamics equivalent to the original model are obtained, confirming that results reported as new were previously known based on the original system, without taking into account the refuge of the prey. We conclude that the behavior of the systems depends on the mathematical expression to describe the number of sheltered prey.

Empirical verification of feeding selectivity of larval and juvenile pelagic fishes using in-situ zooplankton assemblages

Most studies on the feeding ecology of larvae and juveniles of commercially important pelagic fishes have used field-based approaches. However, due to possible biases related to net sampling, it is uncertain whether the results obtained from those studies truly represent the situation of live fish in the sea. Here we investigated the feeding ecology of pelagic fishes through a laboratory experiment minimizing the biases inherent in field net sampling. In the experiment, hatchery-reared juvenile chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and larval/juvenile Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) were fed with wild-caught zooplankton assemblages collected from around Hakatajima Island in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The relationships between fish size and prey number in the gut, and the selectivity on each prey organism were determined. As a result, in both species, prey number and size increased with body size, and the fish showed strong selectivity for crustaceans including copepodites and adults of copepods. Our data has also clearly indicated that both species can selectively prey on preferred foods that are rare while avoiding non-preferred foods that are abundant. These results, which substantially accord with reports from previous field studies, will not only help field scientists make a convincing interpretation of their data, but also open the possibility of further laboratory studies on detailed mechanisms of the feeding selectivity of larval/juvenile pelagic fishes.

Changes in community composition and prey capture of web-building spiders during rice field development

Understanding the effects of microhabitat changes on arthropod predator communities and their prey in agroecosystems is essential for field management and biocontrol. Few studies have investigated the trait composition of web-building spider communities in rice ecosystems. Here, we examined how temporal changes during the rice field development affect the abundance and traits of orb-web spiders, and how these effects consequently influence captured prey number and prey composition in irrigated rice ecosystems in southern Thailand. We used structural equation models to evaluate direct and indirect, spider-mediated effects of rice field development on captured prey numbers in each different guild. We found that the number of horizontal web-building spiders decreased during the rice field development, whereas there was no significant change in number of vertical web-building spiders. The number of captured detritivorous insects was positively related to the numbers of horizontal and vertical web-building spiders, while phytophagous insects and others were positively related only to the numbers of vertical web-building spiders. Moreover, the prey number captured by vertical web-building spiders seems to be indirectly increased through the decreasing number of horizontal web-building spiders in the late rice season. A fourth-corner analysis showed that spider species identity, spider traits (web type, web height and web diameter), vegetation height, and water level generally influenced the prey captured by web-building spiders. Horizontal web-building spider species with lower web placement during the flooding phase captured high numbers of detritus-feeding insects, while vertical web-building spider species with higher web placement captured high numbers of rice pests, predators and others. Our results suggest that the field development acted as an environmental factor that determined the species identity and traits of web-building spider communities. The findings of this study can help to predict the ecosystem services provided by the web-building spider community in rice ecosystems.

Stability, bifurcation, and chaos of a stage-structured predator-prey model under fear-induced and delay

The motivation of this paper is inspired by the research of Zanette et al. (2011) [4], which reveals that the perception of predation risk can reduce the number of juvenile prey. To investigate how fear affects the behavior of prey population, we formulate a predator-prey model with a stage structure for prey in which adult prey is undergoing the interference of fear. First, the dynamic properties of the model are analyzed, including the existence and stability of equilibria, bifurcations dynamics, such as transcritical, saddle-node, and Hopf bifurcations. Our results reveal that fear can promote the formation of the stability of the model by transforming it from an unstable state to a stable state. Numerical simulations and theoretical analysis indicated that when the level of fear reaches 25.4, the number of juvenile prey affected by fear decreases by 40% compared to those not affected by fear. Terrifyingly, the predators are on the brink of extinction in high levels of fear. Moreover, we examine the impact of time delay on fear in the previous model as prey needs some time to assess the predation risk. Some dynamic characteristics of this delayed model are also analyzed. Results indicate that the fear effect is conducive to generating a stable state, while delay is detrimental to generating a stable state, leading to limit cycles or even chaos.

Estimating relative per capita predation rates from molecular gut content analysis

The problem of estimating predation rates from molecular gut content data has been challenging. Previous work showed how per capita predation rates could be estimated from quantitative molecular gut content data using the average prey quantity in the predator, the decay rate of the prey in the predator and a conversion constant to convert measured prey quantity into prey numbers or biomass. Based on this previous work, we developed and illustrated a method to estimate relative per capita predation rates for a single prey species consumed by one predator species. This method does not require estimation of either the decay rate of the prey in the predator or the conversion constant. We describe how gut content data from qPCR, quantitative ELISA, metabarcoding and unassembled shotgun reads (Lazaro) can be used to estimate relative per capita predation rates. The method was used to estimate the relative per capita predation rate in a laboratory feeding trial to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the method using Lazaro data. Ten independent estimates were statistically similar, but precision was related to the number of observed prey reads. We estimated the relative per capita predation rate by the ant Pheidole flavens on another ant Pheidole tristis in a field experiment and by the ladybeetle Hippodamia convergens on the aphid Lipaphis pseudobrassicae on organic production farms. We found that higher P. flavens activity-density was associated with lower relative per capita predation rates, therefore indicating lower predation rates on P. tristis. The absence of variation among farms in relative per capita predation by H. convergens suggested that the farms were biological replicates. Using relative per capita predation rates can provide a rapid way to assess how a predator–prey interaction changes over space and time and may help identify factors that limit or enhance biological control of pests.

Phase‐dependent red fox expansion into the tundra: implications for management

AbstractExpansion of boreal species into tundra ecosystems is a consequence of climate change and human exploitation that threatens local species through increased predation, competition, and pathogen transmission. Under these circumstances, efficient control of expanding boreal species may be necessary, but the efficiency of such action depends on understanding the ecological influences of expansion. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is expanding into the tundra across the Arctic. In Scandinavia, red foxes threaten local tundra species and communities including the endangered Arctic fox (V. lagopus). The ecological dynamics in the tundra are influenced by small rodent cycles (classified into different phases based on seasonal abundance fluctuations), which can affect red fox expansion, distribution, and abundance. We used a 17‐year (2004–2020) dataset from the tundra in Sweden, consisting of raw snow track data, to test how cyclic prey influenced red fox distribution and abundance, and subsequently red fox control. The winter abundance of red fox was influenced by small rodent phase, with higher abundance during high prey availability (i.e., increased number of prey numbers) with no support for a time lag between red fox and small rodent abundance. This suggests that high prey availability attracts red foxes to the tundra and that higher immigration from the boreal zone can be expected in response to increased prey abundances. There was no relationship between red fox control and small rodent availability, but control was influenced by red fox abundance during the previous year, which highlights an opportunistic control strategy. We recommend an adaptive management strategy where authorities include small rodent dynamics in the planning and execution of red fox control.

Diet Composition and Feeding Habits of Fish Larvae of Five Species in the Burullus Lake, Egypt

Feeding habits of fish larvae were analysed in a comparative study of five species (Oreochromis niloticus, O. aureus, Tilapia zilli, Mugil cephalus and Liza ramada) from the Burullus Lake. We investigated the potential influence of larvae size on their feeding and looked for common patterns in larval prey preference. Gut contents of a total of 1068 larvae were examined. The feeding habits of the examined larvae shared some characteristics. As larvae of the five species grew, the preferred prey size and the number and diversity of prey in the gut increased. On the other hand, larval feeding also differed in several aspects, especially differences in the composition of preferred prey items. For Cichlidae larvae, the dominant prey was the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis followed by copepodite stages. For M. cephalus larvae, the copepods Paracalanus sp and Acartia sp were the most important diets, while for L. ramada, decapod larvae were the most important. The Mugilidae larvae consumed significantly larger prey than the cichlid larvae, which could be related to their morphology, especially the mouth size. Ivlev’s selectivity index calculated for larvae showed positive selection for particular prey. In all the species, copepods were the most selected, particularly for Mugillidae larvae, but for Cichlidae larvae, the rotifer Brachionus competed with copepods as a selected prey. This dietary study of fish larvae of these important species is essential for the development of fisheries and can be implemented in further related studies of other areas.

Impact of Climate Change on Snow Leopards in the Himalayas

Nowadays, there are no more than 8000 snow leopards worldwide. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, reduced prey numbers, etc., have become the main reasons for the decline in snow leopards, leading to the extinction of snow leopards. Many current studies are focusing on the distribution, behavior, and prey of snow leopards and the threats they meet. But even though we know the snow leopards well and have tried our best to protect them, they are still facing some threats, such as climate change. This article studies how climate change acts in the Himalayas, which is the main habitat for snow leopards, the reasons for climate change, and how climate change affects snow leopards. Climate change causes warming, changes in precipitation, and glaciers retreating in the Himalayas. These reduce the area of snow leopards’ territories and decrease the number of prey. Therefore, cubs’ fertility and survival rates decline, exacerbating snow leopards’ extinction.

Dawn of snake sociality: resource defence and social behaviours of Lycodon semicarinatus foraging on sea turtles

Abstract Snakes are traditionally considered to be the least social among non-avian reptiles. Therefore, social behaviours that are not related to mating have rarely been studied in wild snakes. Nonetheless, in two species of snakes, Lycodon semicarinatus and Oligodon formosanus, intraspecific interactions unrelated to mating have been reported among individuals that forage on sea turtles and cluster around sea turtle nests. In this study, we conducted a field survey on L. semicarinatus on a sandy beach on Okinawa Island for four years by route census and fixed videography to quantify interactions between individuals that occurred at sea turtle nests. Snakes repelled conspecifics from the nest by using a ritual combat dance. Whether the snakes attacked the conspecific depended on the opponent at the nest. Some snakes waited for the conspecific to leave the nest. This decision-making may be based on individual recognition by chemical cues, because the snakes exhibited frequent tongue-flicking toward the occupant before contacting. Their tongue-flicking duration was significantly longer when the subsequent response was attacking than when it was fleeing. These intraspecific interactions imply the occurrence of territoriality and suggest the possible occurrence of a dominance hierarchy in L. semicarinatus. A comparison of L. semicarinatus with a previous study on O. formosanus revealed that they express different social interactions, although the two species use a similar feeding environment. Oligodon formosanus removes conspecifics from the nest by simply biting, but L. semicarinatus competed for the priority to access the nest by combat dance, and its decision-making whether to challenge the combat dance changed flexibly depending on the opponent. In addition, several L. semicarinatus that did not challenge the combat dance waited for hours near the opponent that were foraging on the nest. Lycodon semicarinatus exhibited behaviours to avoid encounter and fights with conspecific individuals. Although there are differences in the social level between the two snake species, the exploitation of a food resource that contains large numbers of prey in one place, such as sea turtle nests, may be an ecological factor that favours the evolutionary development of social behaviours in solitary snakes.

Diet composition of three amphisbaenian species (Amphisbaena alba, Amphisbaena pretrei, and Amphisbaena vermicularis) from Northeast Brazil

Amphisbaenians usually have a diet composed of a wide variety of small arthropods, with some species being more selective in their feeding and others considered more generalist. Using only specimens deposited in scientific collections, the diet composition of Amphisbaena alba Linnaeus, 1758, Amphisbaena pretrei Duméril and Bibron, 1839, and Amphisbaena vermicularis Wagler, 1824 from the Northeast region of Brazil was analyzed. Except for individuals of A. alba, due to the small sample size, we also investigated the possible intersexual difference in the volume, length, and number of prey in the diet of amphisbaenians and the possible relationship between prey volume and body size (snout–vent length) of individuals was analyzed. The diet of worm-lizard in general was composed of termites, cockroaches, ants, and beetle larvae, and no intersexual differences were found in the size, length, and number of consumed prey. The body size of A. pretrei and A. vermicularis showed no relationship with the volume of prey consumed. Amphisbaenians presented a characteristic diet of opportunistic generalist predators, with several food categories in the composition of their diets, indicating that the studied species feed according to the availability and abundance of prey in the environment.

Conspecific density drives sex-specific spatial wintertime distribution and hoarding behaviour of an avian predator

Most studies on intraspecific competition, i.e., competition among individuals of the same species, have been conducted during the breeding season. Yet, at northern latitudes, intraspecific competition is expected to be particularly strong under the harsh weather conditions of the non-breeding season with limited number of resources available per individual. We studied the food-hoarding behaviour of wintering Eurasian Pygmy Owls (Glaucidium passerinum) along with sex- and age-specific spatial distribution in relation to fluctuating main prey abundance (voles) and conspecific density using a 15-year dataset. In low vole abundance years, increasing conspecific density reduced the total prey number stored by an owl, suggesting high costs of exploitative competition. The distance between the stores of nearest neighbours was greater when both were females, suggesting that the spatial avoidance is driven by sex-specific competition. However, food stores of females had a larger amount of prey items, especially when the nearest neighbour was of the same sex. The number of stores hoarded by an owl increased with increasing conspecific densities. Distributing the prey items to multiple store-sites instead of one (shifting from larder-hoarding towards scatter-hoarding) can help to reduce the overall loss to potential pilfering when conspecific density is high. These results combined suggest that high conspecific density inflames sex-specific interference competition, rather than solely exploitative competition, and in turn drives the observed sex-specific spatial distribution. Adopting a sex-specific spatial distribution according to hoarding and aggressive behaviour can be a way to reduce the severity of intraspecific competition locally and could have cascading effects on the prey community.

Effect of fungicides on the functional response of Neoseiulus longispinosus (Phytoseiidae) to Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae) eggs

ABSTRACT The present study was performed to investigate the effect of fungicides (mancozeb, copper oxychloride, thiophanate methyl, and metalaxyl + mancozeb) on the functional response of a phytoseiid predator, Neoseiulus longispinosus (Evans), to eggs of Tetranychus urticae Koch. The predatory mite females were treated with fungicides and after 48 h, progeny from live females were evaluated for the residual toxicity effect on the functional response of predatory mites. All the tested stages of N. longispinosus (protonymph, deutonymph, adult female and male) exhibited a type II functional response to eggs of T. urticae in fungicide treatments and untreated control. With an increase in prey density, the number of prey consumed increased, then levelled off and the proportion of prey consumed decreased. When compared with control, no significant differences across treatments were observed in the attack rate and handling time of the predator stages. The adult female showed maximum searching efficiency with attack rate and handling time ranging between 0.226–0.204 h−1 and 3.069–3.457 h, respectively, across fungicide treatments. This study suggests that even under the exposure of fungicides, N. longispinosus could possess a promising predatory potential against T. urticae on tomato.

Interactive effects of temperature and velocity on the feeding behavior of competing native and invasive stream fishes

The integration of invasive species into native communities may result in the destabilization of food webs through predation of native prey and competition with native predators. These negative effects are likely to be exacerbated by climate change, increasing the frequency of heat waves, droughts, and high-flow events. Invasive Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) and native White Sucker (Catostomus commersonii) were collected from the wild and acclimated to a range of temperatures expected to capture increases in temperature under climate change. In the laboratory, we measured the effects of temperature (19, 22, 25, and 28°C) and velocity gradients (0, 0.15, 0.3, 0.6 m/s at 22 and 25°C) on the prey consumption and foraging behavior of each species. We found that the prey consumption and number of attacks (lunges at prey) of both species increased with temperature but were consistently higher in Round Goby. Velocity had an interactive effect with temperature for prey consumption and foraging behavior, where generally, velocity tolerance for both species was higher at 22°C than at 25°C. White Sucker tolerance to velocity was higher than Round Goby, suggesting that systems with higher velocities may provide a competitive advantage in high-flow environments. Our results stress the importance of interactive experiments when examining the impact of invasive species on native competitors under shifting climatic conditions.

Diet Composition Explains Interannual Fluctuations in Reproductive Performance in a Lowland Golden Eagle Population

Food supply stands out as one of the most critical drivers of population demographics by limiting reproductive rates. In this study, we assessed fluctuations in diet composition and monitored various reproductive parameters over a nine-year period in a Golden Eagle population in an Eastern European peatland. The identification of 2439 prey specimens from 84 species revealed that the studied eagles primarily preyed upon birds (constituting 78.3% of prey numbers and 67.2% of prey biomass) and less on mammals (21.6% and 32.8%, respectively). Grouse emerged as the most important prey group (31% and 27%), followed by waterfowl (17%) and hares (8% and 14%). The most significant prey species, both in terms of numbers and weight, were the Black Grouse, Mountain Hare, Common Crane, and Capercaillie. The share of the Black Grouse decreased, while those of the White-fronted Goose, Roe Deer, and hares increased. The food niche, as measured by the Levins’ index, was broad (6.6), and it expanded during the study. On average, 58.3% of Golden Eagle pairs initiated breeding annually, with 69.1% successfully completing it, and 0.41 young per occupied territory were produced annually; there was pronounced interannual variation in reproductive performance. These fluctuations were associated with the shares of White-fronted Goose, Capercaillie, Mountain Hare and Roe Deer in the diet, suggesting that these species may be gaining increasing importance for the Golden Eagle, particularly following the decline of the Black Grouse.

How do predator interference, prey herding and their possible retaliation affect prey-predator coexistence?

<abstract><p>In this paper, focusing on individualistic generalist predators and prey living in herds which coexist in a common area, we propose a generalization of a previous model, namely, a two-population system that accounts for the prey response to predator attacks. In particular, we suggest a new prey-predator interaction term with a denominator of the Beddington-DeAngelis form and a function in the numerator that behaves as $ N $ for small values of $ N $, and as $ N^{\alpha} $ for large values of $ N $, where $ N $ denotes the number of prey. We can take the savanna biome as a reference example, concentrating on large herbivores inhabiting it and some predators that feed on them. Only two conditionally stable equilibrium points have emerged from the model analysis: the predator-only equilibrium and the coexistence one. Transcritical bifurcations from the former to the latter type of equilibrium, as well as saddle-node bifurcations of the coexistence equilibrium have been identified numerically by using MATLAB. In addition, the model was found to exhibit bistability. Bistability is studied by using the MATLAB toolbox bSTAB, paying particular attention to the basin stability values. Comparison of coexistence equilibria with other prey-predator models in the literature essentially shows that, in this case, prey thrive in greater numbers and predators in smaller numbers. The population changes due to parameter variations were found to be significantly less pronounced.</p></abstract>

Estimation of predation rate and handling time of boll weevil larvae by Marava arachidis (Dermaptera: Labiidae) using different mathematical methods.

Anthonomus grandis grandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a pest with a large potential for destruction in cotton crops, causing damage to the cotton reproductive structures. The earwig Marava arachidis (Dermaptera: Labiidae), is an important reference as a predator in several crops and being easy to rear in the laboratory. To analyze the potential biocontrol of M. arachidis of A. grandis grandis larvae, a study of predatory capacity was conducted using a functional response model. A. grandis grandis larvae were exposed to the predator at densities 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 larvae (= prey/predator / Petri dish), with 30 replications at each density. Contact between the predator and the prey occurred for 24 hours; after this period, the level of predation of M. arachidis was assessed based on the proportion of preyed larvae. The linear logistic regression coefficient was used with a beta-binomial generalized linear model to determine the functional response. The negative signal of the linear coefficient and the goodness-of-fit tests revealed a quadratic or type II functional response, with the number of prey varying from 1.00 larva (density of 1 larva/predator) to 6.50 larvae (density of 8 larvae/predator). Therefore, the results of the present study demonstrate a high predatory capacity of M. arachidis on A. grandis grandis larvae.

Optimal control problem of a discrete spatiotemporal prey–predator three-species fishery model

In this work, we discuss a spatiotemporal discrete prey–predator model. It consists of three compartments: prey, predator, and super-predator. The proposed model describes the interaction between prey, predator, and super-predator in a region with a discrete displacement. We also provide research on appropriate regional control strategies. The controls are applied to the predator and the super-predator, respectively; they represent catching these in measured quantities in a space and a time chosen. The aim is to increase the number of prey and reduce the number of predators, restore the food chain system, and ensure its sustainability. Finally, we provide graphical visuals and numerical simulations to support our analytical findings.