Why is predation important and required in a community with rich biodiversity? Explain with the help of suitable examples.

• Predator plays an important role in energy transfer from one trophic level to the next trophic level. They keep the prey population under control.

• In agricultural pest control, adopted Biological control methods are based on the ability of the predator to regulate the prey population.

• Predators also help in balancing species diversity in a community, by reducing the intensity of competition among competing prey species.

• For example, in the rocky intertidal communities of the American Pacific Coast, the starfish Pisaster is an important predator. In an experimental study, when all the starfish were removed from a particular enclosed seashore area, within a year more than ten invertebrate species became extinct, due to interspecific competition.