Figure
: Functional response (prey consumed per predator) observations for
various predator and prey densities of the Stenostomum
virginanum-Paramecium aurelia predator-prey system, along with fitted
model predictions (line represents mean; shaded area the standard
deviation of model posterior distribution). a) Ratio dependent Type III
equation, b) Hassell-Varley Type III equation, c) Beddington-DeAngelis
equation, d) Kovai equation. N indicates the prey density. Data from
(Kratina et al. 2009).
Figure 2 shows the applicability of various equation types across all
datasets used in this study. Given the Kovai equation’s ability to
adjust to both Type II and Type III functional responses, we expected it
to show more consistent applicability across datasets with varying
functional response forms than pure Type II or Type III equations
(regardless of prey or ratio dependence). Datasets were classified by
their level of (dis)similarity to a Type II functional response, using
the average rank of Type II equations’ fit (as compared to the fit of
equations with different functional responses) when fitted to the data.
Figure 2 compares the average rank (lower indicates better fit relative
to other equations) of different equation groups with the average rank
of Type II response equations for each of the different datasets.