Habitat heterogeneity and mammalian predatorprey interactions

1. In predator–prey theory, habitat heterogeneity can affect the relationship between kill rates and prey or predator density through its effect on the predator’s ability to search for, encounter, kill and consume its prey. Many studies of predator– prey interactions include the effect of spatial heterogeneity, but these are mostly based on species with restricted mobility or conducted in experimental settings. 2. Here, we aim to identify the patterns through which spatial heterogeneity affects predator–prey dynamics and to review the literature on the effect of spatial heterogeneity on predator–prey interactions in terrestrial mammalian systems, i.e. in freely moving species with high mobility, in non-experimental settings. We also review current methodologies that allow the study of the predation process within a spatial