Within an ecological community there are hundreds of different interactions between different species, all of these interactions are intended to maintain the balance within the community and, therefore, the ecosystem.
One of the most important relationships is the one that is created between a predator and its prey, therefore, in this article on our site, we will talk about what are animals predators, explaining this quality in detail, what types exist and we will also see some representative examples.
What is predation?
Predation occurs when one organism kills and feeds on another, without both organisms having to belong to the Animal Kingdom, thus, the meaning of predators is that organism that hunts, kills and eats other beings.
The act of predation is a process that normally consumes a lot of energy in both the hunting animal and the hunted animal. But it also provides energy to maintain the vital functions of the predator, causing the death of the prey animal. Predation, therefore, has two main ecological functions, at the individual level, since the physical state of the prey abruptly worsens, preventing future reproduction, and at the level of the community, as the number of prey animals is reduced.
When we think of predation, the first thing that comes to mind is the carnivorous interaction where one animal kills another. another, like an owl hunting mice or a fox preying on a rabbit. Perhaps less obvious interactions are those involving multiple predatory individuals hunting larger prey, such as a pack of wolves hunting a deer or a pack of killer whales chasing a larger whale. This type of group predation is also very common in social ants, wasps or spiders.
Even less obvious is seed predation which can sometimes constitute predation. Seeds are organisms that, under ideal circumstances, will grow into a plant. Therefore, consuming a seed kills the plant before it grows.
On the other hand, not all predators are animals. The carnivorous plants, such as the Venus flytrap, consume insects to obtain the nitrogen supply they need and that the soil where they live lacks.
Types of predators
Focusing on the Animal Kingdom, we can differentiate between various types of predators:
- True predators or carnivores: are the animals that hunt their prey (always another animal), kill it and consume it in a short period of time. Find out more about carnivorous animals.
- Herbivores: These are animals that feed on green plants, seeds or fruits. In principle, they do not have to end the life of the individual, but they can inflict different degrees of damage. Find out more about herbivorous animals.
- Parasitoids: are insects that parasitize other insects so that a female lays her eggs inside or on other insects, depending on the eggs hatch, the larvae devour their host to death.
- Parasites: There are animals that parasitize other animals, inflicting minor or serious damage, even death. Find out more about parasitism in animals.
- Cannibals: are animals that feed on individuals of their own species. Normally this fact occurs at specific moments of the life cycle of the animal.
Examples of predators
There are many predatory animals, some of large size like the polar bear, probably the animal largest true predator on earth, reaching 3 meters tall when standing on its hind legs. This animal that lives in the Arctic, feeds mainly on seals and fish.
Another great predator is the blue whale, capable of ingesting thousands of fish and krill when it opens its mouth. In the ocean we also find tuna, powerful and fast marine predators.
On the other hand, a good example of parasitoid predators are the waspsof the family Braconidae. The females of these wasps lay their eggs inside certain species of caterpillars. When the larvae hatch from the eggs they begin to slowly devour the inside of the caterpillar, until they die and come out of it.
Although it may seem strange, cannibalism is very common in nature, although the species that practice it only do so in certain moments, like a male lion devouring the cubs of his defeated rival. The bullfrog, can also feed on individuals of the same species but younger when there is overpopulation. The leopard seal, in times of famine, may eat its own pups or other seals.
The praying mantis is one of the most voracious predatory insects, also practicing cannibalism when the female eats the male during copulation. Another predatory arthropod, although not an insect, is the scolopendra, with certain species being able to hunt even small birds or rodents.
