predation
predation An interaction between species 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 often (but not always, e.g. piranha fish) larger than prey organisms and the prey is usually (but not always) wholly consumed. 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
