[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-139026-105":59,"doc-detail-139026-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","in-african-savannas-are-donor-and-trophic-control-of-ungulate-prey-coupled-by-apparent-competition","In African savannas, are donor and trophic control of ungulate prey coupled by apparent competition?","","Understanding how donor (bottom-up) and trophic (top-down) modes of population control shape food web structure and dynamics remains a central ecology goal, yet mechanistic consensus is lacking. Two recurring patterns suggest generality: predators trigger trophic cascades and power-law predator-prey relationships often linked to donor control. Using ungulate assemblage data from three African savannas, the study shows coupled donor and trophic control via non-reciprocal apparent competition (NRAC). Rankings and dynamics across additional savannas support NRAC as a candidate mechanism.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/in-african-savannas-are-donor-and-trophic-control-of-ungulate-prey-coupled-by-apparent-competition/139026/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/in-african-savannas-are-donor-and-trophic-control-of-ungulate-prey-coupled-by-apparent-competition/139026.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"นรินทร์","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-18","2026-08-23",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What ecological question does the paper address?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Whether donor (bottom-up) and trophic (top-down) control of ungulate prey are coupled through apparent competition, and how this shapes food-web structure and dynamics.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which two macroecological patterns are used as clues?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Predators are associated with herbivore biomass declines and plant biomass increases (trophic cascade), and predator biomass increases sublinearly with prey biomass density, often described by power laws.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do the authors explain why both patterns can arise together?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They show both patterns emerge simultaneously through non-reciprocal apparent competition (NRAC) mediated by generalist predators, where donor-controlled dominant prey support most predators while trophic-controlled prey are suppressed.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},139026,1787494256,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":144},2336475104957,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c6bd8a5076e1?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1787554080175789136","1 In African savannas, are donor and trophic control of ungulate prey coupled by apparent  \n2 competition?  \n3  \n4  \n5 Authors:  \n6 Nicholas J. Georgiadis 1, Justine A. Becker2, Adam T. Ford3, Douglas N. Kamaru4, Jacob R.  \n7 Goheen4  \n8  \n9  \n10 1. 4718 SW Pendleton St., Portland OR 97221 (independent researcher)  \n11 2. Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA  \n12 3. Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, 1177 Research Road, Kelowna, 13 British Columbia, V1V 1V7, Canada  \n14 4. Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, 15 Ames, Iowa, USA  \n16  \n17 Contact and Corresponding Author: Nicholas J. Georgiadis ([nicogeo@uw.edu](nicogeo@uw.edu))  \n18  \n19  \n20 Open Research Statement  \n21 Data used to derive Figure 2 were originally published in graphic form in Georgiadis et al.  \n22 (2007b), and are provided as numerical values in the Supplementary Information for this  \n23 manuscript as Table SI 1. A subset of data from the database published by Daskin and  \n24 Pringle (2018), which were used to perform the analysis described in Table 2, is provided in  \n25 Dryad: [http://datadryad.org/share/vTtYm0p8erwl8RozWe4I7L04lGfTZ0SyALojeQhI660](http://datadryad.org/share/vTtYm0p8erwl8RozWe4I7L04lGfTZ0SyALojeQhI660)  \n26  \n27 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Statement  \n28 During preparation, and at multiple points in developing the manuscript, AI tools Undermind  \n29 and ChatGPT were used to 1) Reference discovery: targeted questions (over 70 in total) were  \n30 submitted to Undermind to identify relevant literature concerning specified ecological  \n31 concepts, models, and case studies. 2) Summarize: ChatGPT was used to generate summaries  \n32 of selected published papers, which were then checked against original sources. These tools  \n33 were used iteratively across the manuscript, particularly in sections synthesizing theory and  \n34 empirical case studies, to help ensure coverage and correct interpretation of relevant  \n35 literature. All interpretations, arguments, and conclusions are our own.  \n36  \n37 Key words and phrases:  \n38 apex predator, bottom-up control, community structure, endangered species, food webs, 39 power law, predation, predator-prey dynamics, top-down control, trophic cascade  \n40  \n41 Abstract  \n42 Understanding how donor (bottom-up) and trophic (top-down) modes of population control  \n43 shape food web structure and dynamics has long been a major goal of ecology, yet consensus  \n44 about mechanisms is lacking. Two prevalent patterns hint at generality in mechanisms that shape  \n45 predator-prey communities. First, within communities, herbivore biomass declines and plant  \n46 biomass increases in the presence of predators, regardless of ecosystem productivity, evoking a  \n47 trophic cascade. Second, across communities, predator biomass density increases sublinearly  \n48 with prey biomass density, a ‘power law’ which often is assumed to arise from donor control.  \n49 We show how both patterns can emerge simultaneously, using data from ungulate assemblages  \n50 in African savannas. Within three savannas where mechanisms underlying trophic dynamics are  \n51 understood (the Greater Serengeti ecosystem, Kruger National Park, and the Laikipia highlands), 52 prey biomass is dominated by one or a few ungulate species that are donor controlled, yet they  \n53 support most of the predators. The same predators also consume less abundant prey species that  \n54 are trophic controlled. In effect, donor and trophic control of prey are coupled by generalist  \n55 predators via ‘non-reciprocal apparent competition’(NRAC) . Within 56 African savannas where  \n56 ungulate biomass densities but not dynamics are known, mean ungulate biomass rankings  \n57 resemble those of Serengeti, Kruger, and Laikipia, and are therefore consistent with the  \n58 hypothesis of NRAC. Under NRAC, total prey biomass declines within systems because trophic- 59 controlled prey a","cbCaieXWIiekD5CY","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieXWIiekD5CY","pdf",1015165,52,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction","[{\"question\":\"What ecological question does the paper address?\",\"answer\":\"Whether donor (bottom-up) and trophic (top-down) control of ungulate prey are coupled through apparent competition, and how this shapes food-web structure and dynamics.\"},{\"question\":\"Which two macroecological patterns are used as clues?\",\"answer\":\"Predators are associated with herbivore biomass declines and plant biomass increases (trophic cascade), and predator biomass increases sublinearly with prey biomass density, often described by power laws.\"},{\"question\":\"How do the authors explain why both patterns can arise together?\",\"answer\":\"They show both patterns emerge simultaneously through non-reciprocal apparent competition (NRAC) mediated by generalist predators, where donor-controlled dominant prey support most predators while trophic-controlled prey are suppressed.\"}]","In African savannas, are donor and trophic control of ungulate prey coupled by apparent competition? | PDF",131]