Apex Predator | Definition, Examples, & Facts - Britannica

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External Websites

• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Lethal control of an apex predator has unintended cascading effects on forest mammal assemblages
• ABC - Education - What is the apex predator of the world?
• PNAS - Estimating and forecasting spatial population dynamics of apex predators using transnational genetic monitoring
• Frontiers - Frontiers in Marine Science - Editorial: Ecological and behavioral traits of apex predators in oceanic insular ecosystems: advances and challenges in research and conservation
• Scientific Reports - Specialization of a mobile, apex predator affects trophic coupling among adjacent habitats
• Oregon State University - College of Forestry - Global Trophic Cascades Program - What is an apex predator?

apex predator ecology Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: top carnivore, top predator Written by John P. Rafferty John P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment. He serves currently as the editor of Earth and life sciences, covering climatology, geology, zoology, and other topics that relate to... John P. Rafferty Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 17, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

apex predator, in ecology, any flesh-eating animal that has no natural predators or enemies. Apex predators hold the top rank in a plant-herbivore-carnivore food chain and the uppermost position of an ecosystem’s trophic (or energy) pyramid, making them the final destination of energy flow in a given biological community. Some experts acknowledge, however, that in some ecosystems a scavenger (an animal that feeds on the carcasses of dead animals), such as a vulture, could be the apex predator.

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Examples of apex predators in terrestrial environments include birds of prey, the wolf (Canis lupus), the coyote (C. latrans), and the largest members of the cat family (Felidae)—which includes the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), puma (Puma concolor), jaguar (Panthera onca), leopard (Panthera pardus), tiger (Panthera tigris), and lion (Panthera leo). Large predatory whales, including the killer whale (Orcinus orca), and the largest predatory sharks, such as the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), are often considered to be the apex predators in many marine environments.

Also called: top predator or top carnivore (Show more) Related Topics: owl tyrannosaur wolf lion tiger (Show more) On the Web: Frontiers - Frontiers in Marine Science - Editorial: Ecological and behavioral traits of apex predators in oceanic insular ecosystems: advances and challenges in research and conservation (Feb. 17, 2026) (Show more) See all related content

Some apex predators may also serve as keystone species (that is, species that have a disproportionately large effect on the biological communities in which they live). Their activities (hunting, movement, and other behaviours) help to maintain local biodiversity within a community by controlling populations of other species that would otherwise dominate the community. Wolves of North America and Eurasia, for example, limit the number of deer (family Cervidae) and elk (Cervus elaphus) in an area by hunting them. Wolves may also disrupt the activities of other animals by their presence; studies have shown that wolves can trigger avoidance behaviours in smaller predators, such as coyotes, as well as in prey animals, who encounter them or detect the odour of their urine.

John P. Rafferty