:confused:Say that any prey no matter what was completely extinct, what would happen to it's predator? Would it eventually become devasting to the whole animal kingdom? Please help me someone I can't find any info anywhere!

Well the predator would have to find another resource (food). Else it would also become extinct.

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Originally Posted by spyderglass

Well the predator would have to find another resource (food). Else it would also become extinct.

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Thank you, that was my exact thought but I wanted to see if anyone else was thought the same thing. Again thank you.

Sincerely,
Robin

It would depend on the predator. Most predators eat lots of different food animals and can switch easily from one to another. But if a main food source dies out, they can be severely impacted. A few predators are specialists that would probably go extinct without their specific food. For example, anteaters prey on ants and are specialized to eat ants. They wouldn't be able to easily switch to something else and get enough to eat. They would probably go extinct without ants.

A black bear also eats ants, but even if ants went extinct, they could still eat grass, berries, bees, honey, yellow jackets, and all the other things they normally eat.

Humans of course are probably the ultimate example of this. For example even if cows went extinct for some reason, we have plenty of other prey to sustain us.

And of course, humans can thrive on a vegetarian diet if we need to or choose too. Especially if supplemented with a handful of bugs now and then.

And if also the predator fed onto two different species of animals, when the first become extinct, the predator will feed only on the second prey. Then that second prey will can go extinct, then the predators will follow, if it doesn't find another source of food.

Expanding slightly on what asking said, this of course could be a driving force for evolution. If one of the main prey of a species becomes extinct for whatever reason, then the predators might evolve to use other food sources. (Individual predators that cannot adapt will be more likely to die, leaving only ones that are able to find other food sources)

A perfect example of evolving to take advantage of available prey/food sources-Darwins Finchs and the absolutely astonishing diving Marine Iguana. They are sort of a specialty-niche filler. The downside of specialty feeders-they don't have the ability physically to adapt as quickly at the same speed that their world is changing. Who ever thought we would live long enough to see dumpster diving Polar Bear's -due to shrinking ice?