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predation

thumb|upright=1.5|Solitary predator: a polar bear feeds on a [[bearded seal it has killed.]] thumb|upright=1.5|Social predators: [[meat ants cooperate to feed on a cicada far larger than themselves.]]

AI overview

Predation is when one animal hunts and kills another animal for food. It matters because it's a fundamental way that animals survive and obtain nutrition, and it shapes how different species interact with each other in nature.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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Commons category: Predation

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Article

33 sections

Contents

Definition
Taxonomic range
Foraging
Search
Assessment
Capture
Ambush
Ballistic interception
Pursuit
Handling
Solitary versus social predation
Specialization
Physical adaptations
Diet and behaviour
Camouflage and mimicry
Venom
Electric fields
Physiology
Antipredator adaptations
Coevolution
Role in ecosystems
Trophic level
Biodiversity maintained by apex predation
Population dynamics
Evolutionary history
In human society
Practical uses
Symbolic uses
See also
Notes
References
Sources
External links

Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the host) and parasitoidism (which always does, eventually). It is distinct from scavenging on dead prey, though many predators also scavenge; it overlaps with herbivory, as seed predators and destructive frugivores are predators.