mutual interference Behavioural interactions among feeding organisms that reduce the time each individual spends obtaining food or the amount of food each individual consumes. It occurs most commonly where the amount of food is small or the number of animals feeding is high. When the searching efficiency of an individual consumer is calculated (see Holling's disc equation) and plotted against consumer density on a graph, both logarithmically, the resulting negative slope is given a value, -m, and m is known as the coefficient of interference.

mutual interference Behavioural interactions among feeding organisms that reduce the time each individual spends obtaining food or the amount of food each individual consumes. It occurs most commonly where the amount of food is small or the number of animals feeding is high. When the searching efficiency of an individual consumer is calculated (see HOLLING'S DISC EQUATION) and plotted against consumer density on a graph, both logarithmically, the resulting negative slope is given a value, -m, and m is known as the coefficient of interference.