Food Chain
Last Review/Updated: May 31, 2002
Because
rodents and lagomorphs are abundant plant eaters, they occupy an important
position in the food chain of their communities. All food energy originates
from the sun, and only green plants can convert sunlight into food
energy. Some of this energy is passed on to animals that feed on green
plants. These animals in turn pass some of their energy on to other
animals that feed on them. Foxes, coyotes, wolves, lynx, mink, fishers,
martens, otters, weasels, and hawks, eagles and owls are some of the
predators that depend upon rodents and lagomorphs for major portions
of their diets.
Most predators are opportunists. They hunt whatever prey is abundant and easy to catch . Because there is a variety of rodent and lagomorph species in a community, most predators do not concentrate their hunting on just one species. They switch from one species to another as each becomes abundant or vulnerable. In this way, each prey species acts as a buffer to the others, and predators seldom endanger the existence of a particular prey population.
