Joshua Weitz, a professor at Georgia Tech's School of Biology who co-authored the study, said that particular phenotypes can show up as dominant depending upon changes in the environment around them. Using data collected regarding mink– muskrat, gyrfalcon– rock ptarmigan, and phage– Vibrio cholerae relationships, research was done to determine if a theory proposed by the Georgia Tech researchers could explain how and why this occurs. Some studies indicate that the roles of each may become reversed to the point that prey begin to eat the predators.

But sometimes the predator population overwhelms the prey to the point of devastating the prey population, subsequently resulting in a devastation of the predator population. Evolution theories Īccording to Georgia Institute of Technology research, prey and predator roles have cycles where the prey population may increase, thereby causing the predator population to increase as well. In addition, adult prey may attack juvenile predators. Changing population densities may trigger a role reversal. Smaller organisms may prey on larger organisms. Two competing predators may interact and the larger predator will prey on the smaller. One type is where the prey confronts its predator and the interaction ends with no feeding. A variety of interactions are considered a role reversal.

Predator–prey reversal is a biological interaction where an organism that is typically prey in the predation interaction instead acts as the predator.

Predator vs prey parental care