Predator Information (Prey, Predation) @ Fiercely.org

In ecology Ecology is the scientific study of the distributions, abundance and relations of organisms and their interactions with the environment. Ecology includes the study of plant and animal populations, plant and animal communities and ecosystems. Ecosystems describe the web or network of relations among organisms at different scales of organization, predation describes a biological interaction Biological interactions result from the fact that organisms in an community interact with each other. In the natural world, no organism is an autonomous entity isolated from its surroundings. It is part of its environment, rich in living and non-living elements, all of which interact with each other in some fashion. An organism's interactions with where a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its prey (the organism that is attacked).^[1] Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding Eating is the ingestion of food to provide for all humans and animals nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, and omnivores consume a mixture of both. Eating is an activity of daily living on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption.^[2] The other main category of consumption A heterotroph is an organism that uses organic carbon for growth by consuming other organisms. This contrasts with autotrophs, such as plants, which can directly use sources of energy such as light to produce organic substrates from carbon dioxide is detritivory Detritivores, also known as detritus feeders or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus . By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles, the consumption of dead organic material (detritus In biology, detritus is non-living particulate organic material . It typically includes the bodies or fragments of dead organisms as well as fecal material. Detritus is typically colonized by communities of microorganisms which act to decompose (or remineralize) the material. In terrestrial ecosystems, it is encountered as leaf litter and other). It can at times be difficult to separate the two feeding behaviors Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffix -vore from Latin vorare, meaning 'to devour', or phagy, from Greek φαγειν, meaning 'to eat'^[1], 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 Any cause that reduces reproductive success in a proportion of a population, potentially exerts evolutionary pressure or selection pressure. With sufficient pressure, inherited traits that mitigate its effects - even if they would be deleterious in other circumstances - can become widely spread through a population. It is a quantitative imposed on one another has led to an evolutionary arms race In evolutionary biology, an evolutionary arms race is an evolutionary struggle between competing sets of co-evolving genes that develop adaptations and counter-adaptations against each other, resembling an arms race, which are also examples of positive feedback. The co-evolving gene sets may be in different species, as in an evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, resulting in various antipredator adaptations Antipredator adaptations are evolutionary adaptations developed over time, which assist prey organisms in their constant struggle against their predators. There are several ways antipredator adaptations can be classified, such as behavioral or non-behavioral or by taxonomic groups.

The unifying theme in all classifications of predation is the predator lowering the fitness Fitness is a central idea in evolutionary theory. It describes the capability of an individual of certain genotype to reproduce, and usually is equal to the proportion of the individual's genes in all the genes of the next generation. If differences in individual genotypes affect fitness, then the frequencies of the genotypes will change over of its prey, or put another way, it reduces its prey's chances of survival, reproduction, or both. Ways of classifying predation surveyed here include grouping by trophic level The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies on the food chain. The word trophic derives from the Greek τροφή referring to food or feeding. A food chain represents a succession of organisms that eat another organism and are, in turn, eaten themselves. The number of steps an organism is from the start of the chain is a measure or diet, by specialization, and by the nature of the predator's interaction with prey.

Functional classification

Classification of predators by the extent to which they feed on and interact with their prey is one way ecologists may wish to categorize the different types of predation. Instead of focusing on what they eat, this system classifies predators by the way in which they eat, and the general nature of the interaction between predator and prey species. Two factors are considered here: How close the predator and prey are physically (in the latter two cases the term prey may be replaced with host In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite , or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna. Examples of such interactions include a cell being host to a virus, a legume plant hosting helpful). Additionally, whether or not the prey are directly killed by Ithe predator is considered, with true predation and parasitoidism involving certain death.

Parasitoids are organisms living in or on their host and feeding directly upon it, eventually leading to its death. They are much like parasites in their close symbiotic relationship with their host or hosts. Like the previous two classifications parasitoid predators do not kill their hosts instantly. However, unlike parasites, they are very similar to true predators in that the fate of their prey is quite inevitably death. A well known example of a parasitoids are the ichneumon wasps The Ichneumonoidea are insects classified in the hymenopteran suborder Apocrita. The superfamily is made up of the ichneumon wasps and the braconids (family Braconidae). Like other parasitic wasps, they were long placed in the "Parasitica", variously considered as an infraorder or an unranked clade, but actually not a monophyletic group, solitary insects living a free life as an adult, then laying eggs on or in another species such as a caterpillar. Its larva(e) feed on the growing host causing it little harm at first, but soon devouring the internal organs until finally destroying the nervous system resulting in prey death. By this stage the young wasp(s) are developed sufficiently to move to the next stage in their life cycle. Though limited mainly to the insect order Hymenoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera parasitoids make up as much as 10% of all insect species.^[3]^[4]

Degree of specialization

Further information: Generalist and specialist species An opportunistic Alligator swims with a deer.

Among predators there is a large degree of specialization. Many predators specialize in hunting only one species of prey. Others are more opportunistic and will kill and eat almost anything (examples: humans, leopards, and dogs). The specialists are usually particularly well suited to capturing their preferred prey. The prey in turn, are often equally suited to escape that predator. This is called an evolutionary arms race and tends to keep the populations of both species in equilibrium. Some predators specialize in certain classes of prey, not just single species. Almost all will switch to other prey (with varying degrees of success) when the preferred target is extremely scarce, and they may also resort to scavenging or a herbivorous diet if possible.^{[citation needed]}

Trophic level

Mantis eating a bee. See also: Trophic level and Trophic dynamics

Predators are often another organism's prey, and likewise prey are often predators. Though blue jays prey on insects, they may in turn be prey for cats and snakes, which, in the latter's case, may themselves be the prey of hawks. One way of classifying predators is by trophic level. Organisms which feed on autotrophs, the producers of the trophic pyramid, are known as herbivores or primary consumers; those that feed on heterotrophs such as animals are known as secondary consumers. Secondary consumers are a type of carnivore, but there are also tertiary consumers eating these carnivores, quartary consumers eating them, and so forth. Because only a fraction of energy is passed on to the next level, this hierarchy of predation must end somewhere, and very seldom goes higher than five or six levels, and may go only as high as three trophic levels (for example, a lion that preys upon large herbivores such as wildebeest which in turn eat grasses). A predator at the top of any food chain (that is, one that is preyed upon by no organism) is called an apex predator; examples include the orca, sperm whale, anaconda, Komodo dragon, tiger, lion, bald eagle, and Nile crocodile -- and even omnivorous humans and grizzly bears. An apex predator in one environment may not retain this position as a top predator if introduced to another habitat, such as a dog among alligators or a snapping turtle among jaguars; a predatory species introduced into an area where it faces no predators, such as a domestic cat or a dog in some insular environments, can become an apex predator by default.

Many organisms (of which humans are prime examples) eat from multiple levels of the food chain and thus make this classification problematic. A carnivore may eat both secondary and tertiary consumers, and its prey may itself be difficult to classify for similar reasons. Organisms showing both carnivory and herbivory are known as omnivores. Even such herbivores such as the giant panda may supplement their diet with meat. Scavenging of carrion provides a significant part of the diet of some of the most fearsome predators. Carnivorous plants would be very difficult to fit into this classification, producing their own food but also digesting anything that they may trap. Organisms which eat detritivores or parasites would also be difficult to classify by such a scheme.

Predation as competition

An alternative view offered by Richard Dawkins is of predation as a form of competition: the genes of both the predator and prey are competing for the body (or 'survival machine') of the prey organism.^[5] This is best understood in the context of the gene centered view of evolution.

Ecological role

Predators may increase the biodiversity of communities by preventing a single species from becoming dominant. Such predators are known as keystone species and may have a profound influence on the balance of organisms in a particular ecosystem. Introduction or removal of this predator, or changes in its population density, can have drastic cascading effects on the equilibrium of many other populations in the ecosystem. For example, grazers of a grassland may prevent a single dominant species from taking over.^[6]

The elimination of wolves from Yellowstone National Park had profound impacts on the trophic pyramid. Without predation, herbivores began to over-graze many woody brow species, affecting the area's plant populations. Additionally, wolves often kept animals from grazing in riparian areas, which protected beavers from having their food sources encroached upon. The removal of wolves had a direct effect on beaver populations, as their habitat became territory for grazing.^[7] Furthermore, predation keeps hydrological features such as creeks and streams in normal working order. Increased browsing on willows lenr and conifers along Blacktail Creek due to a lack of predation resulted in channel incision because those species helped slow the water down and hold the soil in place.^[7]

Adaptations and behavior

The act of predation can be broken down into a maximum of four stages: Detection of prey, attack, capture and finally consumption.^[8] The relationship between predator and prey is one which is typically beneficial to the predator, and detrimental to the prey species. Sometimes, however, predation has indirect benefits to the prey species,^[9] though the individuals preyed upon themselves do not benefit.^[10] This means that, at each applicable stage, predator and prey species are in an evolutionary arms race to maximize their respective abilities to obtain food or avoid being eaten. This interaction has resulted in a vast array of adaptations in both groups.

Camouflage of the dead leaf mantis makes it less visible to both its predators and prey.

One adaptation helping both predators and prey avoid detection is camouflage, a form of crypsis where species have an appearance which helps them blend into the background. Camouflage consists of not only color, but also shape and pattern. The background upon which the organism is seen can be both its environment (e.g. the praying mantis to the right resembling dead leaves) other organisms (e.g. zebras' stripes blend in with each other in a herd, making it difficult for lions to focus on a single target). The more convincing camouflage is, the more likely it is that the organism will go unseen.

Mimicry in Automeris io.

Mimicry is a related phenomenon where an organism has a similar appearance to another species. One such example is the drone fly, which looks a lot like a bee, yet is completely harmless as it cannot sting at all. Another example of batesian mimicry is the io moth, (Automeris io), which has markings on its wings which resemble an owl's eyes. When an insectivorous predator disturbs the moth, it reveals its hind wings, temporarily startling the predator and giving it time to escape. Predators may also use mimicry to lure their prey, however. Female fireflies of the genus Photuris, for example, copy the light signals of other species, thereby attracting male fireflies which are then captured and eaten (see aggressive mimicry).^[11]

Predator

A South China Tiger as the predator feeding on the blesbuck, the prey. Great blue heron with prey.

While successful predation results in a gain of energy, hunting invariably involves energetic costs as well. When hunger is not an issue, most predators will generally not seek to attack prey since the costs outweight the benefits. For instance, a large predatory fish like a shark that is well fed in an aquarium will typically ignore the smaller fish swimming around it (while the prey fish take advantage of the fact that the apex predator is apparently uninterested). Surplus killing represents a deviation from this type of behaviour. The treatment of consumption in terms of cost-benefit analysis is known as optimal foraging theory, and has been quite successful in the study of animal behavior. Costs and benefits are generally considered in energy gain per unit time, though other factors are also important, such as essential nutrients that have no caloric value but are necessary for survival and health.

Social Predation offers the possibility of predators to kill creatures larger than those that members of the species could overpower singly. Lions, hyenas, wolves, dholes, African wild dogs, and piranhas can kill large herbivores that single animals of the same species could never dispatch. Social predation allows some animals to organize hunts of creatures that would easily escape a single predator; thus chimpanzees can prey upon colobus monkeys, and harris hawks can cut off all possible escapes for a doomed rabbit. Extreme specialization of roles is evident in some hunting that requires co-operation between predators of very different species: humans with the aid of falcons or dogs, or fishing with cormorants or dogs. Social predation is often very complex behavior, and not all social creatures (for example, domestic cats) perform it. Even without complex intelligence but instinct alone, some ant species can destroy much-larger creatures.

Size-selective predation involves predators preferring prey of a certain size. Large prey may prove troublesome for a predator, while small prey might prove hard to find and in any case provide less of a reward. This has led to a correlation between the size of predators and their prey.^[12] Size may also act as a refuge for large prey, for example adult elephants are generally safe from predation by lions, but juveniles are vulnerable.^[12]

It has been observed that well-fed predator animals in a lax captivity (for instance, pet or farm animals) will usually differentiate between putative prey animals who are familiar co-inhabitants in the same human area from wild ones outside the area. This interaction can range from peaceful coexistence to close companionship; motivation to ignore the predatory instinct may result from mutual advantage or fear of reprisal from human masters who have made clear that harming co-inhabitants will not be tolerated. Pet cats and pet mice, for example, may live together in the same human residence without incident as companions. Pet cats and pet dogs under human mastership often depend on each other for warmth, companionship, and even protection, particularly in rural areas.

Antipredator adaptations

Main article: Antipredator adaptations

Antipredator adaptations have evolved in prey populations due to the selective pressures of predation over long periods of time.

Aggression

Predatory animals often use their usual methods of attacking prey to inflict or to threaten grievous injury to their own predators. The electric eel uses the same electrical current to kill prey and to defend itself against animals (anacondas, caimans, jaguars, egrets, cougars, giant otters, humans, and dogs) that ordinarily prey upon fish similar to an electric eel in size; the electric eel thus remains an apex predator in a predator-rich environment. Many non-predatory prey animals, such as a zebra, can give a strong kick that can maim or kill, while others charge with tusks or horns.

Mobbing behavior

Main article: Mobbing behavior

Mobbing behavior occurs when members of a species drive away their predator by cooperatively attacking or harassing it. Most frequently seen in birds, mobbing is also seen in other social animals. For example, nesting gull colonies are widely seen to attack intruders, including humans.^[8] Costs of mobbing behavior include the risk of engaging with predators, as well as energy expended in the process, but it can aid the survival of members of a species.

While mobbing has evolved independently in many species, it tends to be present only in those whose young are frequently preyed on, especially birds. It may complement cryptic behavior in the offspring themselves, such as camouflage and hiding. Mobbing calls may be made prior to or during engagement in harassment.

Mobbing can be an interspecies activity: it is common for birds to respond to mobbing calls of a different species. Many birds will show up at the sight of mobbing and watch and call, but not participate. It should also be noted that some species can be on both ends of a mobbing attack. Crows are frequently mobbed by smaller songbirds as they prey on eggs and young from these birds' nests, but these same crows will cooperate with smaller birds to drive away hawks or larger mammalian predators. On occasion, birds will mob animals that pose no threat.

Advertising unprofitability

Thomson's Gazelles exhibit stotting behavior.

A Thomson's Gazelle seeing a predator approach may start to run away, but then slow down and stot. Stotting is jumping into the air with the legs straight and stiff, and the white rear fully visible. Stotting is maladaptive for outrunning predators; evidence suggests that stotting signals an unprofitable chase. For example, cheetahs abandon more hunts when the gazelle stots, and in the event they do give chase, they are far less likely to make a kill.^[13]

Aposematism, where organisms are brightly colored as a warning to predators, is the antithesis of camouflage. Some organisms pose a threat to their predators—for example they may be poisonous, or able to harm them physically. Aposematic coloring involves bright, easily recognizable and unique colors and patterns. Upon being harmed (e.g. stung) by their prey, the appearance in such an organism will be remembered as something to avoid.

Terrain Fear Factor

The "terrain fear factor" is an idea which assesses the risks associated with predator/prey encounters. This idea suggests that prey will change their usual habits to adjust to the terrain and its effect on the species' predation. For example, a species may forage in a terrain with a lower predation risk as opposed to one with high predation risk.^[14]

Population dynamics

It is fairly clear that predators tend to lower the survival and fecundity of their prey, but on a higher level of organization, populations of predator and prey species also interact. It is obvious that predators depend on prey for survival, and this is reflected in predator populations being affected by changes in prey populations. It is not so obvious, however, that predators affect prey populations. Eating a prey organism may simply make room for another if the prey population is approaching its carrying capacity.

The population dynamics of predator-prey interactions can be modelled using the Lotka–Volterra equations. These provide a mathematical model for the cycling of predator and prey populations.

Predators tend to select young, weak, and ill individuals.^[15]

Evolution of predation

Predation appears to have become a major selection pressure shortly before the Cambrian period—around 550 million years ago—as evidenced by the almost simultaneous development of calcification in animals and algae,^[16] and predation-avoiding burrowing. However, predators had been grazing on micro-organisms since at least 1,000 million years ago.^[17]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

Humans and predation

As predators

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In much of the world, humans are the best-organized^{[citation needed]} and most cunning^{[citation needed]} predators taking prey for consumption. The closest rival to humans in those characteristics in most of the world, the dog,^{[citation needed]} is far more likely a collaborator than a competitor or a menace.^{[citation needed]}

Humans are omnivorous and use tools to exploit their environments; from snares, clubs, spears, fishing gear, firearms to boats and motor vehicles. Humans even use other predatory species, (such as dogs, cormorants, and falcons) in hunting and fishing; some people even enlist such non-predatory beasts, like horses, camels, and elephants in getting approaches to prey.

Humans have reshaped huge expanses of the world as ranges and farms for the raising of livestock, poultry, and fish to be eaten as meat. Though, it can be debated whether or not harvesting livestock fits strictly in the definition of predation.

As prey

A lone naked human is at a physical disadvantage to other comparable apex predators in areas such as speed, bone density, weight, and physical strength. Humans also lack innate weaponry such as claws. Without crafted weapons, society, or cleverness, a lone human can easily be defeated by fit predatory animals, such as wild dogs, big cats and bears. There are even recorded instances of lone humans being preyed upon by large carnivores (see Man-eater). However humans are not solitary creatures; they are social animals with highly developed social behaviors. Further humans and their ancestors (such as Homo erectus) have been using stone tools and weapons for well over a million years. Anatomically modern humans have been apex predators since they first evolved, and many species of carnivorous megafauna actively avoid interacting with humans; the primary environmental competitor for a human is other humans.

In conservation

Predators are an important consideration in matters relating to conservation. Introduced predators may prove too much for populations which have not coevolved with them, leading to possible extinction. This will depend largely on how well the prey species can adapt to the new species, and or not the predator can turn to alternative food sources when prey populations fall to minimal levels. If a predator can use an alternative prey instead, it may shift its diet towards that species, while still eating the last remaining prey organisms. On the other hand the prey species may be able to survive if the predator has no alternative prey—in this case its population will necessarily crash following the decline in prey, allowing some small proportion of prey to survive. Introduction of an alternative prey may well lead to the extinction of prey, as this constraint is removed.^{[clarification needed]}

Predators are often the species endangered themselves, especially apex predators who are often in competition with humans. Competition for prey from other species could prove the end of a predator—if their ecological niche overlaps completely with that of another the competitive exclusion principle requires only one can survive. Loss of prey species may lead to coextinction of their predator. In addition, because predators are found in higher trophic levels, they are less abundant and much more vulnerable to extinction.

Biological pest control

Main article: Biological pest control

Predators may be put to use in conservation efforts to control introduced species. Although the aim in this situation is to remove the introduced species entirely, keeping its abundance down is often the only possibility. Predators from its natural range may be introduced to control populations, though in some cases this has little effect, and may even cause unforeseen problems. Besides their use in conservation biology, predators are also important for controlling pests in agriculture. Natural predators are an environmentally friendly and sustainable way of reducing damage to crops, and are one alternative to the use of chemical agents such as pesticides.

References

^ ^a ^b Begon, M., Townsend, C., Harper, J. (1996). Ecology: Individuals, populations and communities (Third edition). Blackwell Science, London. ISBN 086542845X, ISBN 0632038012, ISBN 0632043938.
^ Encyclopedia Britannica: "predation"
^ Godfray, H.C.J. (1994). Parasitoids: Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 0691033250, ISBN 0691000476. P. 20.
^ Feener, Jr., Donald H.; Brian V. Brown (January 1997). "Diptera as Parasitoids". Annual Review of Entomology 42: 73–97. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.42.1.73. PMID 15012308. http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.ento.42.1.73. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
^ Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
^ Botkin, D. and E. Keller (2003). Enrivonmental Science: Earth as a living planet. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-38914-5. P.2.
^ ^a ^b William J. Ripple and Robert L. Beschta. "Wolves and the Ecology of Fear: Can Predation Risk Structure Ecosystems?" 2004.
^ ^a ^b Alcock, J. (1998). Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (6th edition). Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, Inc. ISBN 0-87893-009-4.
^ Bondavalli, C., and Ulanowicz, R.E. (1999). Unexpected effects of predators upon their prey: The case of the American alligator. Ecosystems, 2: 49–63.
^ Dawkins, R. (2004). The Ancestor's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618005838.
^ Lloyd, J.E. (1965). Aggressive Mimicry in Photuris: Firefly Femmes Fatales. Science 149:653–654.
^ ^a ^b Molles, Manuel C., Jr. (2002). Ecology: Concepts and Applications (International ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ISBN 0-07-112252-4.
^ Caro, T. M. (1986). The functions of stotting in Thomson's gazelles: Some tests of the predictions. Animal Behaviour 34:663–684.
^ Ripple, William J., and Robert L. Beschta. "Wolves and the ecology of fear: Can predation risk structure ecosystems?" BioScience 54: 755–66.
^ Genovart M, Negre N, Tavecchia G, Bistuer A, Parpal L, Oro D. (2010). The young, the weak and the sick: evidence of natural selection by predation. PLoS One. 19;5(3):e9774. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009774 PMID 20333305
^ Grant, S. W. F.; Knoll, A. H.; Germs, G. J. B. (1991). "Probable Calcified Metaphytes in the Latest Proterozoic Nama Group, Namibia: Origin, Diagenesis, and Implications". Journal of Paleontology (JSTOR) 65 (1): 1–18. PMID 11538648. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3360(199101)65%3A1%3C1%3APCMITL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R.
^ ^a ^b Bengtson, S. (2002). "Origins and early evolution of predation". in Kowalewski, M., and Kelley, P.H. (PDF). The fossil record of predation. The Paleontological Society Papers 8. The Paleontological Society. pp. 289–317. http://www.nrm.se/download/18.4e32c81078a8d9249800021552/Bengtson2002predation.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
^ McNamara, K.J. (20 December 1996). "Dating the Origin of Animals". Science 274 (5295): 1993–1997. doi:10.1126/science.274.5295.1993f. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/274/5295/1993f. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
^ Awramik, S.M. (19 November 1971). "Precambrian columnar stromatolite diversity: Reflection of metazoan appearance" (abstract). Science 174 (4011): 825–827. doi:10.1126/science.174.4011.825. PMID 17759393. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/174/4011/825. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
^ Stanley (2008). "Predation defeats competition on the seafloor" (extract). Paleobiology 34: 1. doi:10.1666/07026.1. http://paleobiol.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/extract/34/1/1.

External links

Wolfram Demonstrations Project: Predator-Prey Equations by Eric W. Weisstein
Predators, three articles by Olivia Judson, NY Times, Sept. & Oct., 2009

Feeding behaviours

Carnivores

adult	Hematophagy · Insectivore · Lepidophagy · Man-eater · Molluscivore · Mucophagy · Myrmecophagy · Ophiophagy · Piscivore · Avivore · Spongivore · Vermivore

reproductive	Oophagy · Ovophagy · Paedophagy · Placentophagy · Breastfeeding · Weaning

cannibalistic	Cannibalism · Human cannibalism · Self-cannibalism · Sexual cannibalism

Herbivores

Folivore · Frugivore · Graminivore · Granivore · Nectarivore · Palynivore · Xylophagy · Osteophagy

Others

Phagocytosis · Bacterivore · Coprophagia · Detritivore · Fungivore · Geophagy · Omnivore

Methods

Apex predator · Bottom feeding · Browsing · Hypercarnivore · Filter feeding · Grazing · Kleptoparasitism · Scavenging · Trophallaxis

Predation · Antipredator adaptation · Carnivorous plant · Carnivorous fungus · Carnivorous protist · Category:Eating behaviors

Inter-species biological interactions in ecology

Amensalism • Commensalism • Inquilinism • Mutualism • Neutralism • Synnecrosis • Predation (Carnivory • Herbivory • Parasitism • Parasitoidism • Cheating) • Symbiosis • Competition • Mimicry

Modelling ecosystems - trophic components

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Defense/counter	Antipredator adaptations · Herbivore adaptations to plant defense · Plant defense against herbivores

Modelling ecosystems - other components

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List of ecology topics

Evolutionary ecology

Patterns of evolution	Convergent evolution · Parallel evolution · Divergent evolution

Signals	Antipredator adaptation · Aposematism · Mimicry · Crypsis (Countershading) · Unkenreflex

Categories: Predation | Biological pest control

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'Predator' News

norwichbulletin.com

Leniart receives life sentence - Norwich Bulletin
Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:22:05 GMT+00:00
Norwich Bulletin Calling him a sexual predator in the truest sense of the word, Judge Barbara Jongbloed sentenced George Leniart to life in prison without ... Leniart sentenced to life in prison TheDay.com 'A true predator ' removed from society TheDay.com Conn. man gets life in prison for 1996 killing Hartford Courant

Google News Search: predator,
Sat Jul 17 07:14:38 2010

'Predator' Images

collectoybles.com.au

predator hottoys predator 2 damaged jpg
568px x 397px | 42.80kB

[source page]

new chapter in our history Of course if they re not friendly then we re in real trouble They might try to kill us War of the Worlds use us as incubators Alien hunt us for sport Predator drink our blood The Thing take over our bodies Invasion of the Body Snatchers or even steal Earth s women I Married a Monster from Outer Space

Yahoo Images Search: predator,
Sat Jul 17 07:14:38 2010

'Predator' Blogs

ainonline.com

Lynx advanced radar is proved aboard Predator B: AINonline

Charles Alcock

ue, 20 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GM

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) recently completed flight tests of its new Lynx advanced multi-channel radar (AMR) on its own . Predator. B unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The AMR combines the functions of a synthetic ...

Google Blogs Search: predator,
Wed Jul 21 03:09:52 2010

'Predator' Answers

How do I collect trophies as predator and bite heads as Alien?
Q. In the first (i think) Alien versus Predator game you can bite heads and collect trohpies, but how? And also, how do you throw predator's disc?
Asked by Teegan - Tue Nov 4 09:21:09 2008 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Check the tutorial or game manual. Also, look in options under keyboard setup and check to see which key is bound to those actions.
Answered by Robin G - Tue Nov 4 09:23:57 2008

Yahoo Answers Search: predator,
Sat Jul 17 07:14:38 2010

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Contents

Functional classification

True predation

Grazing

Parasitism

Parasitoidism