Methods (empirical study)
12 experimental studies with predation (functional response) data were
taken from the literature, for a total of 29 distinct datasets (Table
1). Where data was only available in the form of figures instead of
tables, these were first digitised using the web version of
WebPlotDigitizer (Rohatgi 2019). All analyses were run on Python 3.7
(Python Software Foundation (PSF) 2019), using the libraries Numpy (van
der Walt et al. 2011), Pandas (McKinney 2010) and PyMC3
(Salvatier et al. 2016) for mathematical analyses; graphs were
plotted using Seaborn (Michael Waskom et al. 2018) and Matplotlib
(Hunter 2007). All data and code used to run the analyses and plot the
figures present in this article is included in the supplementary
material.
Table : Studies and datasets used
in the analyses. PD indicates prey dependence, RD ratio dependence, HV
Hassell-Varley, BD Beddington-DeAngelis, and O other equations not
reviewed in this study. Roman numerals indicate Holling functional
response form. Only equations finally recommended or identified as
giving good fit by the authors of the corresponding study are mentioned
in the last column.