The secret lives of cannibals: Modelling density-dependent processes that regulate population dynamics in Chaoborus crystallinus

The comparison of simulated to measured population dynamics in outdoor mesocosms revealed that cannibalism was mainly responsible for the high overall mortality (>80%) in C. crystallinus populations when using cannibalism rates for the simulations measured in the laboratory. Our results suggest that cannibalism also acts as a density-dependent compensatory mechanism by regulating population dynamics at higher larval densities and reducing population vulnerability at lower larval densities.