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predation

File:Polar_bear_(Ursus_maritimus)_with_its_prey.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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predation

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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.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
feeding behavior
Part of
predator–prey system
Image
GreatBlueHeronTampaFL.JPG
Said to be same as
predator
Show 6 more facts
Commons category
Predation
topic's main category
Category:Predation
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
described by source
Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
role of agent(s) of action
predator
different from
hunting
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

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

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.]]

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “predation” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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