Despite their fame, scavengers play a very important and primordial role in the cycle of life Thanks to them, the organic matter can be broken down and made available again to plants and other autotrophic beings. In addition, they clean nature of corpses that can be important sources of infection.
In this article on our site we will talk about the scavengers, what role they have in the natural environment,the types that exist and some examples.
The food chain
A food chain describes the feeding relationship between different species within an ecosystem. They show how energy and matter pass from one species to another within a biotic community. Food chains are usually represented in such a way that an arrow connects one being with another, going the direction of the arrow in the direction in which energy and matter move.
Within the chains, the organisms are grouped into trophic levels, thus we find the primary producers orautotrophs , such as plants, which are capable of obtaining energy from the Sun's energy and inorganic materials and produce complex organic matter that will serve as food and energy for theheterotrophs or primary consumers, for example herbivores.
Definition of scavenger animal
When animals die, the decomposition of the body is carried out by microscopic beings such as bacteria and fungi. In this way, the organic matter from which the body is made is converted into inorganic matter and becomes available again to the primary producers. But, these microscopic beings need the action of other beings so that they carry out a primary decomposition of dead matter. This is where scavengers play their all-important role.
Scavengers are animals that have evolved to depend on dead organisms instead of hunting for their own food. Most of these animals are carnivorous, and some are omnivorous, feeding on rotting plant material or even paper. On occasion, scavengers may hunt their own food, but this only occurs in extreme hunger when the prey is nearly dead. There are several types of scavengers that we will see below.
Examples of terrestrial scavengers
The most representative species of land scavengers are found in certain parts of Africa. We have all been able to see the hyenas in action in some documentary. These savannah scavengers are constantly on alert to steal food hunted by lions or other large predators.
Removing a pride of lions from their prey is quite difficult, as the lions, when they outnumber the hyenas, will defend themselves harshly. Hyenas have the option of waiting for the lions to feed or try to take prey from other solitary predators, such as leopards or cheetahs. In addition, they can hunt sick or injured animals that can no longer move.
Another group of animals very characteristic of scavengers, but less known as such, are insectsDepending on the species, they will be carnivores such as wasps or omnivores such as cockroaches, which can feed on paper and even clothing.
There are also scavenger dogs, whether they are individuals belonging to the species Canis lupus familiaris or domestic dogs or other species such as the jackal or the coyote.
Examples of aquatic scavengers
Other examples of scavengers, perhaps less well known, are aquatic scavengers. The crabs and lobsters feed on dead fish or any other decomposing organism found in its aquatic environment. The eels eat dead fish too. The great Great White Shark, one of the oceans' largest apex predators, also eats dead whales, dead fish, and dead sea lions.
Examples of aerial scavengers
The most characteristic scavenging bird species is the vulture, in Spain we can see two different species, although there are many more in the world, the black vulture (in danger of extinction) and the griffon vulture. These animals scan the earth's surface from the air in search of dead animals, they feed exclusively on them.
They have keen eyesight and a highly developed sense of smell. Their beak and claws are not as strong as those of other birds since they do not need them to hunt. They are bald, this adaptation helps them not to accumulate remains of carrion between the feathers and avoid infections by pathogenic bacteria.
Of course, there are other scavenger birds, so here is a list of scavenger birds and their names:
- Village Beard: As the name suggests, these animals feed on the bones of dead animals. They take bones and throw them from a great height to break them so they can eat them.
- Zopilote: This animal is similar to the vulture. It also feeds on carrion but can be seen near human settlements feeding on garbage, it is very common to see them fly with garbage in their claws.
- Condor: Also similar to the vulture, the most important characteristic of this animal is that it watches its dead prey for several days before down to feed on it.
- Alimoche: this type of vulture is the last to appear before the carrion, it usually feeds on meat attached to the bone and skin. They also supplement their diet with eggs, small animals, insects or droppings.
- Raven: Ravens are rather opportunistic birds, they will feed on roadkill or other dead animal remains, but they also hunt small animals.
