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Predator

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Definition

An organism that captures and survives by feeding on other organisms is called as predator.

Introduction

The predator gains energy to sustain life and encourage its reproduction on the cost of an organism being eaten, the prey. Predators sit at the top of the food chain and consume its prey perched one trophic level below, which in return eats plants, the basis of the ecosystem (Hairston et al. 1960). Predator plays a very crucial role in framing the ecosystem structure and function. Predator-prey interactions change the community structure, arbitrate trophic cascades, and influence biodiversity and species invasions. Moreover, the prey population dynamics can be controlled by predators by affecting features such as survival, behavior, growth, size, structure, and distribution over an area. Besides animals, carnivorous/insectivore plants like the Venus fly trap and pitcher plant which feed on insects also show predation. These plant species grow in nitrogen-deficient soil....

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Ecology, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Neha

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  1. Neha
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Correspondence to Neha .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Federal Institute Farroupilha, Panambi, RS, Brasil

    Caroline Leuchtenberger

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Neha (2019). Predator. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_671-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_671-1

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