What benefits do predators have?

Predators are a part of the animal world. While we often don't want them around because of our animals, they provide benefits to an ecosystem.

The first one I can think of is balance. I know of an town that is on an island in a river. They outlawed hunting on this island. And no one can grow a garden without complete fencing because there are too many deer that are too bold. The deer eat gardens, fruit trees, flower gardens, etc.

I also recall reading an article about how the wolf changed the river. While I think that is a bit sensational in its title, reintroducing wolves did change things in Yellowstone National Park.

When we have mouse trouble, we all suddenly want cats.

What other benefits direct or indirect come from predators?

You mention the risk to livestock, but the predator population also protects them! Native deer (etc.) carry diseases that can jump to your herds, but if the infected deer get weak out in the woods and are taken by a wolf, that deer has less chance to spread their infection to your cattle. I suppose the same thing must protect human health sometimes, but the only examples springing to mind are things like dragonflies eating mosquitos where the dragonfly doesn't have any downside -- it isn't going to prey on our children or hens.

"Nature abhors a vacuum." I've read plenty of articles about predator/prey balance and how it works itself out.

Humans want animals to "be manageable" and to "be where we want them, when we want them".  That's like putting out an all you can eat buffet for predators! Humans have hunted predators to reduce the pressure for a very long time also. But using a spear to hunt a wolf pack is a dangerous outing, as is true of many predators.

However, growing acres of monoculture isn't any different, so growing plants for food vs growing animals for food, doesn't change the equation that much if you're following the Industrial model.

Permaculture encourages "paddock shift" approaches which is what nature does with herbivores to reduce predation. It encourages polycultures instead of monocultures which helps reduce insect predation.

So much comes down to density and circumstances.  Hunting deer in my area is very limited because of reasonable gun rules (firing a gun near a roadway can kill innocent humans - duh!) So instead, the humans unintentionally hunt the excess deer with their cars. I dislike this because I end up smelling decomp for a week.  So I totally support qualified hunters being given access to the few places hunting can be done safely. (We have a few farms large enough for this.) Cougars are our local deer predator. They also take pets, children, and occasionally adults. As much as I appreciate cougars reducing the deer pressure, I understand why humans don't like this solution.

However, predators also teach humans things - like better ways to protect their livestock! My friend got a refresher lesson in that yesterday. No sympathy from me as I'd warned her repeatedly. Unfortunately, I got a minor injury in the process, so that has also significantly reduced my sympathy level. Predators have just as much right to their role in nature as humans and farm animals do. So maybe "benefit" is only one way of looking at it. Right to do what they were designed to do - keep populations in check by targeting the young and removing the old before they die of illnesses that can be spread - might be a better way for me to look at it.

I know it would be more valuable if I were thoroughly synthesizing the abstracts, but for now at least, here's a gob of links on the subject and the simple note that it turns out large predators provide an awful lot of ecosystem services that benefit humans:

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10385
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0421-2
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.1799
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/fee.2336
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880924004377

Hi, Matt

That is a thought provoking subject with lots of different benefits.

I feel most folks will agree that it is a balance of nature.

We have a large predator presence though not the same predators aaa you or others might have.

It is possible that we might have a mountain lion or a bear as those have been spotted/killed though I have not seen them.

We have feral hogs, raccoons, and foxes. And a cat named Tiny who is a good hunter of small creatures.
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The natural system REQUIRES predators. Without them, the system breaks. For the most part, the system is 'self-repairing' when a component is removed from it, but in doing so, the system is forever changed.  The system is VERY complex, and it is virtually impossible to predict what is going to take place or how the system is going to repair itself in the end when parts are removed. Some of the resulting changes can be predicted, but in reality, most changes, and the final outcome, isn't predictable, nor is it what is usually wanted.

Really, the only predator that heavily damages ecosystems are humans.

On a long-term scale, predation helps to drive evolution. Everything is trying to avoid being eaten by something else (even plants) and the ones that manage to eat (in the case of the predator) or to not get eaten (in the case of the prey) pass on their genes.

Christopher Weeks wrote:You mention the risk to livestock, but the predator population also protects them! Native deer (etc.) carry diseases that can jump to your herds, but if the infected deer get weak out in the woods and are taken by a wolf, that deer has less chance to spread their infection to your cattle. I suppose the same thing must protect human health sometimes, but the only examples springing to mind are things like dragonflies eating mosquitos where the dragonfly doesn't have any downside -- it isn't going to prey on our children or hens.

Chris, also in relation to 'native deer', consideration must be given to that if the deer population goes unchecked without predation, not only do the deer eat theirself out of house and home, they also eat the livestock out of house and home, not to mention the impact on the vegetation itself.

Our experience here in New Hampshire is predators can be utilized to manage pests. We had a large vole population, which lead to a large weasel population which solved our vole problem for a while. Then owls and hawks population increased. These birds of prey ate the weasels. The weasels disappeared and the voles came back this year. We had loads of foxes until a bobcat moved in, and the foxes disappeared. We have big coyotes (coywolves) all around, but they keep to themselves. We have huge black bear population, but they keep to the forest edges mostly.

We have two dogs with strong prey drives patrolling the farm regularly.

Take-aways:

1. You can't have predators without prey
2. Food chains are dynamic
3. Predators compete for territory
4. There are good predators and bad predators within a species.
5. Predators are most active on the edges.
6. You can design systems that utilize different predator vectors, like any other system. Requires keen observation.

E Sager wrote: 4. There are good predators and bad predators within a species.

I'm not sure if you're looking on the individual basis or the sub-species basis, but I agree. We work hard to not let the local racoon discover that chickens taste good. However, we look like a "forested" area and have had coons "dropped off" in our back yard. These coons not only don't know local food options, but also were likely trapped in the first place for causing trouble. They were trap savvy!

Often in this situation, we end up having to resort to removal. As a registered farm, we can do so humanely. We've had local homesteaders request our "assistance" in a few severe situations, and it's amazing how as soon as the "bad apple" is gone, they're happy to report no more trouble.

This is why there are rules against feeding wild animals. It really is a bad idea in most situations. One exception we've done is to introduce a predator to an invasive species. Black squirrels are invasive here. A friend has killed some and left them out for the local owls so that they know that Black squirrels are "food". I am not trying to kill every squirrel - just help keep them achieve balance by encouraging owls to see them as a food source.

Jay Angler wrote:I'm not sure if you're looking on the individual basis or the sub-species basis

That's right, I was referring to individual basis. For instance if you have a bunch of coyotes who are not eating chickens or lambs, it's best to keep them if you can, because new coyotes moving in might have a preference for chicken or lamb.

Good idea with the owls, you can never have enough owls.