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 predators
Neandertals sophisticated and fearless hunters
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 14, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (15) |
3
Neandertals, the 'stupid' cousins of modern humans were capable of capturing the most impressive animals. This indicates that Neandertals were anything but dim. Dutch researcher Gerrit Dusseldorp analysed their daily forays ...
Duck-billed dinosaurs outgrew predators to survive
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 06, 2008 |
3.8 / 5 (16) |
5
With long limbs and a soft body, the duck-billed hadrosaur had few defenses against predators such as tyrannosaurs. But new research on the bones of this plant-eating dinosaur suggests that it had at least ...
As super-predators, humans reshape their prey at super-natural speeds
Biology /
Jan 12, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (13) |
9
(PhysOrg.com) -- Fishing and hunting are having broad, swift impacts on the body size and reproductive abilities of fish and other commercially harvested species, potentially jeopardizing the ability of entire ...
When evolution is not so slow and gradual
Jun 02, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
0
What's the secret to surviving during times of environmental change? Evolve…quickly.
Single gene lets bacteria jump from host to host
Biology /
Feb 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- All life -- plants, animals, people -- depends on peaceful coexistence with a swarm of microbial life that performs vital services from helping to convert food to energy to protection from ...
Researchers break the animal kingdom's colour code
Apr 16, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
0
Charles Darwin was fascinated by the colours of animals - he once wrote to his colleague Alfred Russell Wallace asking why certain animals were "so
beautifully and artistically coloured".
Common fish species has 'human' ability to learn
Jun 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
Although worlds apart, the way fish learn could be closer to humans' way of thinking than previously believed, suggests a new research study.
Loss of top predators causing surge in smaller predators, ecosystem collapse
Oct 01, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
The catastrophic decline around the world of "apex" predators such as wolves, cougars, lions or sharks has led to a huge increase in smaller "mesopredators" that are causing major economic and ecological disruptions, ...
A venomous tale: Vipers shape lizards' tail-shedding abilities
Mar 25, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues have answered a question that has puzzled biologists for more than a century: What is the main factor that determines a lizard's ability ...
Not 1, but 2 kinds of males found in the invasive round goby
Jun 15, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
Scientists have found the existence of two types of males of a fiercely invasive fish spreading through the Great Lakes, which may provide answers as to how they rapidly reproduce.
How does this grab you? Study identifies first ancestor with a 'grasping hand'
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 29, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
In the Late Paleozoic (260 million years ago), long before dinosaurs dominated the Earth, ancient precursors to mammals took to the trees to feed on leaves and live high above predators that prowled the land, ...
Big predatory mammals such as felines need between 5 and 7 different types of prey to meet their dietary needs
Biology /
Jul 11, 2008 |
4 / 5 (3) |
0
Faced with earlier studies stating that the big predators such as tigers, lions, and lynxes fulfil their dietary needs by eating one or two types of prey, scientists from the University of Malaga assure us ...
First albino buffalo spotted in Kenyan park
Apr 24, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
3
Rangers in Kenya's Hellsgate National Park have spotted an albino buffalo, the first of its kind ever recorded in the wildlife rich country, park officials said Friday.
Birds use social learning to enhance nest defense
Jun 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Reed warblers live with the threat that a cuckoo bird will infiltrate their nest, remove one of their eggs, and replace it with the cuckoo's own. This 'parasitism' enables the cuckoo to have its young raised by unsuspecting ...
Siberian jays use complex communication to mob predators
Jun 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
When mobbing predators, Siberian jays use over a dozen different calls to communicate the level of danger and predator category to other members of their own group. A Swedish study from Uppsala University, published in the ...
