B4.2.10—Predator and prey adaptations
Predator and prey adaptations affect capture, escape and survival through senses, speed, venom, camouflage, mimicry and warning defences in ecosystems.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2025
- Objective
- B4.2.10
- Level
- HL
Predator and Prey Traits Form an Arms Race
Predators use chemical, physical and behavioural adaptations to find, catch and kill prey; prey use the same categories to avoid detection, capture or consumption.
| Interaction stage | Predator adaptation | Prey adaptation |
|---|---|---|
| Find/avoid detection | Binocular vision, acute smell or echolocation | Camouflage, mimicry, wide field of view |
| Catch/escape | Speed, stealth, coordinated hunting | Rapid escape, erratic movement, grouping |
| Kill/resist handling | Venom, claws, powerful jaws | Armour, spines, toxins, aposematic colour |
Peregrine-falcon speed increases capture success, while a hedgehog's spines reduce handling success. Poison-dart-frog warning colours advertise chemical defence, and harmless coral-snake mimics can deter attack.
A chameleon combines visual detection and a rapidly projected tongue to capture prey; the prey's camouflage changes the detection stage rather than its ability to survive after capture.
A conspicuous signal is not necessarily poor camouflage—it may be aposematic. Classify the trait by the interaction stage and mechanism, not only by appearance.
Predator and prey adaptations
Assessment in practice
1–2 marksHow it is assessed
This objective is assessed through data analysis, commonly using Suggest.
Command terms
Suggest
What earns marks
Build the answer around this relationship: Predator adaptations improve finding, capturing or killing prey.
Representative question
Question 1
[Maximum number: 2]
The graph shows that distasteful butterflies tend to have a lower ability to escape from predators than palatable butterflies. Suggest reasons for this trend.
a. palatable butterflies with high escaping ability can survive to pass on genes / palatable butterflies with low escaping ability are eaten and their genes are lost;
b. unpalatable/distasteful butterflies, regardless of escaping ability, are not eaten/are avoided by predators;
c. such butterflies survive to pass on their genes to the next generation;
Niches, Nutrition, And Competition
A niche is the role of a species in a community, including habitat, abiotic tolerances, nutrition, activity, reproduction, and interactions. The evidence should match the question: nutrition mode, oxygen tolerance, feeding adaptation, predator-prey interaction, plant light strategy, fundamental versus realized niche, or competitive exclusion.
- Definition answers should include role plus habitat/resources/interactions, not only place.
- Nutrition modes explain how organisms obtain carbon, energy, or organic matter.
- Adaptation examples should be linked to feeding, defence, light harvesting, or competition.
- Fundamental versus realized niche and competitive exclusion are tested together because interactions narrow where species actually live.
Concept essentials
- Predator adaptations improve finding, capturing or killing prey.
- Prey adaptations improve escape, avoidance or deterrence.
- Camouflage and mimicry can reduce predation risk.
- Warning colouration or distastefulness can reduce the need for rapid escape.