ArticleBiology letters2023
The paradox of predation studies.
Article in Biology letters, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Temperature and body size affect movement of juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and saithe (Pollachius virens) at nearshore nurseries.Journal of fish biology · 2025Article
- Quantifying large carnivore predation relative to human harvest on moose in an intensively managed boreal ecosystem.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2025Article
- Parasite scars: the impact of salmon lice injury on sea trout populations.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding the causal relationships that contribute to mortality in populations is a priority for epidemiology, animal husbandry and ecology. Of all the sources of mortality in nature, predation is perhaps the most important, while simultaneously being one of the most difficult to study and understand. In this opinion piece, we use the epidemiological concept of the sufficient-component cause model to outline why we believe that predation studies often misrepresent predators as sufficient cause of death (or natural mortality) in ecological studies. This is pivotal in conservation biology because such studies have often led to demands for predator removal throughout the world. We use the sufficient-component cause model to illustrate the paradox that multiple studies, each studying singular putative causes of mortality (including predation), will sum to more than 100% mortality when added together. We suggest that the sufficient-component framework should be integrated into both fundamental and applied ecology to better understand the role of predators in natural ecosystems.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.