Predation
hideIn ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its prey, (the organism that is attacked). Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of the prey. The other main category of consumption is detritivory, the consumption of dead organic material (detritus). It can at times be difficult to separate the two feeding behaviors, for example where parasitic species prey on a host organism and then lay their eggs on it for their offspring to feed on its decaying corpse. The key characteristic of predation however is the predator's direct impact on the prey population. On the other hand, detritivores simply eat what is available and have no direct impact on the "donor" organism(s).
Selective pressures imposed on one another has led to an evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, resulting in various antipredator adaptations.
For more information about Predation, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with predator
For fish, bigger doesn’t always mean healthier
Nov 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Female smallmouth bass tend to prefer bigger male mates, but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean healthier. That’s the finding of a new study in the latest issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology that i ...
Skunk's Strategy Not Just Black and White
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
4
Predators with experience of skunks avoid them both because of their black-and-white coloration and their distinctive body shape, according to UC Davis wildlife researcher Jennifer Hunter. The study was published ...
Frog embryos associate the smell of predators with danger
Nov 03, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study in the US and Canada has found that frogs can learn to associate the smell of predators with danger, even as embryos.
Spying on Corn Rootworm Predators Nightlife
Oct 31, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Jonathan G. Lundgren, while exploring corn fields at night, has found a very different group of predators than the ones that feed during the ...
Wolves lose their predatory edge in mid-life, study shows
Oct 26, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Although most wolves in Yellowstone National Park live to be nearly six years old, their ability to kill prey peaks when they are two to three, according to a study led by Dan MacNulty and recently published ...
Hearing on the wing: New structure discovered in butterfly ears
Oct 21, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A clever structure in the ear of a tropical butterfly that potentially makes it able to distinguish between high and low pitch sounds has been discovered by scientists from the University ...
Fish Sense Other Fish Via Ripples
Oct 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Although humans experience their world through vision, touch and the other senses, many creatures gather information about their surroundings through unique sensory mechanisms that humans don’t have.
Krill 'superswarm' formation investigated
Oct 13, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have been studying how krill form into superswarms, which are among the largest gatherings of living creatures on Earth.
Research team saves turtle species on the brink (w/ Video)
Sep 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers exploring strategies for conserving the Diamondback Terrapin along Alabama's Dauphin Island coastline are working to keep the once-celebrated turtle off ...
No Mistaking this Bug with New Insect ID Technique
Sep 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Misidentifying boll weevils caught in pheromone traps could be easier to avoid, thanks to a new DNA fingerprinting method devised by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their ...
Study examines the evolutionary fate of 'useless' traits
Sep 08, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
1
What happens when traits no longer give creatures a competitive edge?
Wolf hunt is on in Idaho -- for now (Update)
Sep 01, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- The first public wolf hunt in decades in the lower 48 states is off to a slow start.
Small rodents encourage the formation of scrubland in Spain
Aug 27, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
0
After two years of research over five degraded landscapes in the National Park of Sierra Nevada (Granada), scientists have established for the first time that field mice base their diet on holm oak and pine ...
Scientists find universal rules for food-web stability
Aug 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
The findings, published in this week's issue of Science, conclude that food-web stability is enhanced when many diverse predator-prey links connect high and intermediate trophic levels. The computations also reveal that s ...
Researchers stunned by inmates' success raising endangered frogs
Jul 09, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (12) |
5
Kneeling on the edge of a tank the size of a child's wading pool, Harry Greer thrust his arm into the cool water and scooped up three frogs.
