predation
predation The interaction between species populations in which one organism, the predator, obtains energy (as food) by consuming, usually killing, another, the prey. Most typically, a predator is an animal that catches, kills, and eats its prey; but predation also includes feeding by insectivorous plants and grazing interactions (e.g. the complete consumption of unicellular phytoplankton by zooplankton). Predation is analogous to parasitism in being both a means of feeding and a cause of immediate harm, but differs in that predators are usually larger than prey organisms (but not always, e.g. piranha fish) and the prey is usually killed. The distinction is not clear-cut, especially for insect populations. In detail, a continuous gradation of interactions is found from predation to parasitism.
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predation
