Talia Moore, a comparative biomechanist in LSA’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, spoke to the New York Times about a new study on predator-prey interaction in the Botswana savannah. The study, published in Nature, shows that despite the superior athleticism of predatory lions and cheetahs, the impalas and zebras they chase have more options for maneuvering away at the last second—an advantage that helps maintain balanced numbers of predators and prey in the savannah.

“This research suggests that these predator-prey pairs have been co-evolving in an evolutionary arms race,” Moore told the Times. An LSA postdoctoral fellow, Moore studies animal movement in the context of the natural environment, with the aim of uncovering biomechanical mechanisms that can help explain evolutionary and ecological patterns.
 

Click here to read more from Talia Moore on predator-prey behavior.


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