Trophic function

A trophic function is defined in the Kolmogorov predator-prey system of equations, also called the Kolmogorov predator-prey model. It generalizes the linear case of predator-prey interaction firstly described by Volterra and Lotka in the Lotka-Volterra equation. A trophic function represents the power of the predator to consume the prey assuming a given number of predators. The trophic function (also referred to as the functional response) was widely applied in chemical kinetics, biophysics, mathematical physics and economics. In economics, "predator" and "prey" become various economic parameters such as price and output (number of produced goods), outputs of the various linked sectors (such as processing and supply sectors). These relationships, in turn, were found to have a similar character as the relationships of magnitudes in chemical kinetics, where the chemical analogues of predators and prey actually interact with each other.