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Ecology, a branch of biology, is the study of the relationships of organisms within their environments. One such relationship is that which exists between predator and prey. Logic would tell us that as the number of prey animals increase so should the number of predators.
This relationship was clearly shown in a population study of the numbers of Canadian lynx's and snowshoe hares. Population counts were based on the number of pelts sold to the Hudson Bay Fur Company by trappers over almost a one hundred year period. As the number of hares increased over several years so did the numbers of lynx. This indicates a rather high positive correlation between the populations of these two organisms.
Can we conclude that a causal relationship exists in this cycle? Can we conclude that increasing numbers of predators caused a decline in the number of prey? Or could it be that increasing numbers of hares created a shortage of food for the hares and thus a decline in both populations?
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