Editing Predation (section)

==Specialization==

===Physical adaptations===

Under the pressure of [[natural selection]], predators have evolved a variety of physical [[adaptation]]s for detecting, catching, killing, and digesting prey. These include speed, agility, stealth, sharp senses, claws, teeth, filters, and suitable digestive systems.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bar-Yam |title=Predator-Prey Relationships |url=http://necsi.edu/projects/evolution/co-evolution/pred-prey/co-evolution_predator.html |publisher=New England Complex Systems Institute |access-date=7 September 2018}}</ref>

For [[Prey detection|detecting prey]], predators have well-developed [[eye|vision]], [[olfaction|smell]], or [[hearing]].<ref name=Stevens2010/> Predators as diverse as [[owl]]s and [[jumping spider]]s have forward-facing eyes, providing accurate [[binocular vision]] over a relatively narrow field of view, whereas prey animals often have less acute all-round vision. Animals such as foxes can smell their prey even when it is concealed under {{convert|2|ft|cm|-1}} of snow or earth. Many predators have acute hearing, and some such as [[animal echolocation|echolocating]] [[bat]]s hunt exclusively by active or passive use of sound.<ref name="RSM2012">{{cite web |title=Predator & Prey: Adaptations |url= https://royalsaskmuseum.ca/pub/Lesson%20Plans/Resources/Predator%20and%20Prey%20Adaptations.pdf |publisher= Royal Saskatchewan Museum |access-date= 19 April 2018 |date= 2012 |archive-date= 3 April 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180403131659/http://royalsaskmuseum.ca/pub/Lesson%20Plans/Resources/Predator%20and%20Prey%20Adaptations.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Predators including [[big cat]]s, [[bird of prey|birds of prey]], and ants share powerful jaws, sharp teeth, or claws which they use to seize and kill their prey. Some predators such as [[snake]]s and fish-eating birds like [[herons]] and [[cormorants]] swallow their prey whole; some snakes can unhinge their jaws to allow them to swallow large prey, while fish-eating birds have long spear-like beaks that they use to stab and grip fast-moving and slippery prey.<ref name="RSM2012"/> Fish and other predators have developed the ability to crush or open the armoured shells of molluscs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vermeij |first=Geerat J. |title=Evolution and Escalation: An Ecological History of Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3pCQ6ks5PEC&pg=PR11 |year=1993 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-00080-0 |pages=11 and passim}}</ref>

Many predators are powerfully built and can catch and kill animals larger than themselves; this applies as much to small predators such as [[ant]]s and [[shrew]]s as to big and visibly muscular carnivores like the [[cougar]] and [[lion]].<ref name="RSM2012"/><ref name=LaffertyKuris2002>{{cite journal |last1=Lafferty |first1=K. D. |last2=Kuris |first2=A. M. |date=2002 |title=Trophic strategies, animal diversity and body size |journal=Trends Ecol. Evol. |volume=17 |issue=11 |pages=507–513 |doi=10.1016/s0169-5347(02)02615-0}}</ref><ref name=Getz2011>{{cite journal |last=Getz |first=W. M. |title=Biomass transformation webs provide a unified approach to consumer-resource modelling |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=113–24 |year=2011 |pmid=21199247 |pmc=3032891 |doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01566.x |bibcode=2011EcolL..14..113G }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ursus arctos 01 MWNH 145 (cropped).JPG|Skull of [[brown bear]] has large pointed [[canine tooth|canines]] for killing prey, and self-sharpening [[carnassial]] teeth at rear for cutting flesh with a scissor-like action
File:Myrmecia pilosula specimen mandibles.jpg|Large [[compound eye]]s, sensitive [[antenna (biology)|antennae]], and powerful jaws ([[mandible (insect)|mandibles]]) of [[Myrmecia pilosula|jack jumper ant]]
File:Crab spider seizes field digger wasp.jpg|[[Crab spider]], an [[ambush predator]] with forward-facing eyes, catching another predator, a [[Mellinus arvensis|field digger wasp]]
File:Hawk eating prey (cropped).jpg|[[Red-tailed hawk]] uses sharp hooked claws and beak to kill and tear up its prey
File:GreatBlueHeronTampaFL.JPG|Specialist: a [[great blue heron]] with a speared fish
File:MNP Python at Moyer.jpg|[[Python molurus|Indian python]] unhinges its jaw to swallow large prey like this [[chital]]
</gallery>

===Diet and behaviour===
{{further|Generalist and specialist species}}

{{multiple image|align=right|image1=Peerj-297-fig-5 Platydemus manokwari.png|width1=200|caption1=''[[Platydemus manokwari]]'', a specialist [[flatworm]] predator of [[land snail]]s, attacking a snail|image2=Lioness vs Cape Buffalo (cropped).jpg|width2=212|caption2=Size-selective predation: a [[lion]]ess attacking a [[Cape buffalo]], over twice her weight. Lions can attack much larger prey, including elephants, but do so much less often.}}

Predators are often highly specialized in their diet and hunting behaviour; for example, the [[Eurasian lynx]] only hunts small [[ungulate]]s.<ref name="Sidorovich2011">{{cite book |last=Sidorovich |first=Vadim |title=Analysis of vertebrate predator-prey community: Studies within the European Forest zone in terrains with transitional mixed forest in Belarus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHxwAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA426 |year=2011 |publisher=Tesey |isbn=978-985-463-456-2 |page=426}}</ref> Others such as [[leopard]]s are more opportunistic generalists, preying on at least 100 species.<ref name="Angelici2015">{{cite book |last=Angelici |first=Francesco M. |title=Problematic Wildlife: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1c-CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 |year=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-22246-2 |page=160}}</ref><ref name=Hayward2006>{{cite journal |last1=Hayward |first1=M. W. |last2=Henschel |first2=P. |last3=O'Brien |first3=J. |last4=Hofmeyr |first4=M. |last5=Balme |first5=G. |last6=Kerley |first6=G.I.H. |title=Prey preferences of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |date=2006 |volume=270 |issue=2 |pages=298–313 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00139.x }}</ref> The specialists may be highly adapted to capturing their preferred prey, whereas generalists may be better able to switch to other prey when a preferred target is scarce. When prey have a clumped (uneven) distribution, the optimal strategy for the predator is predicted to be more specialized as the prey are more conspicuous and can be found more quickly;<ref name=Pulliam1974>{{cite journal |last1=Pulliam |first1=H. Ronald |title=On the Theory of Optimal Diets |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=108 |issue=959 |year=1974 |pages=59–74 |doi=10.1086/282885|bibcode=1974ANat..108...59P |s2cid=8420787 }}</ref> this appears to be correct for predators of immobile prey, but is doubtful with mobile prey.<ref name="SihChristensen2001">{{cite journal |last1=Sih |first1=Andrew |last2=Christensen |first2=Bent |title=Optimal diet theory: when does it work, and when and why does it fail? |journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=61 |issue=2 |year=2001 |doi=10.1006/anbe.2000.1592 |pages=379–390| s2cid=44045919 }}</ref>

{{anchor|Size-selective predation}}
In size-selective predation, predators select prey of a certain size.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sprules |first=W. Gary |title=Effects of Size-Selective Predation and Food Competition on High Altitude Zooplankton Communities |journal=Ecology |volume=53 |issue=3 |year=1972 |doi=10.2307/1934223 |jstor=1934223 |pages=375–386|bibcode=1972Ecol...53..375S }}</ref> Large prey may prove troublesome for a predator, while small prey might prove hard to find and in any case provide less of a reward. This has led to a correlation between the size of predators and their prey. Size may also act as a [[refuge (ecology)|refuge]] for large prey. For example, adult elephants are relatively safe from predation by lions, but juveniles are vulnerable.<ref name="Owen-SmithMills2008">{{cite journal |last1=Owen-Smith |first1=Norman |last2=Mills |first2=M. G. L. |title=Predator-prey size relationships in an African large-mammal food web |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=77 |issue=1 |year=2008 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01314.x |pmid=18177336 |pages=173–183|bibcode=2008JAnEc..77..173O | hdl=2263/9023 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

=== Camouflage and mimicry ===
{{further|Camouflage|Aggressive mimicry}}

{{multiple image
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| image1 = Snow Leopard in Ladakh( Photo by Tashi Lonchay).jpg
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| caption1 = A [[camouflage]]d predator: [[snow leopard]] in [[Ladakh]]
| image2 = Striped anglerfish ( Antennarius striatus ).jpg
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| caption2 = [[Striated frogfish]] uses camouflage and [[aggressive mimicry]] in the form of a fishing rod-like [[Fin ray|lure]] on its head to attract prey.
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}}

Members of the [[Felidae|cat family]] such as the [[snow leopard]] (treeless highlands), [[tiger]] (grassy plains, reed swamps), [[ocelot]] (forest), [[fishing cat]] (waterside thickets), and [[lion]] (open plains) are camouflaged with coloration and [[disruptive pattern]]s suiting their habitats.<ref name=Cott12>{{harvnb|Cott|1940|pages=12–13}}</ref>

In [[aggressive mimicry]], certain predators, including insects and fishes, make use of coloration and behaviour to attract prey. Female ''[[Photuris (genus)|Photuris]]'' [[Firefly|fireflies]], for example, copy the light signals of other species, thereby attracting male fireflies, which they capture and eat.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Lloyd J. E. |year=1965 |title=Aggressive Mimicry in Photuris: Firefly Femmes Fatales |  journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=149 |issue=3684|pages=653–654 |doi=10.1126/science.149.3684.653 |pmid=17747574 |bibcode=1965Sci...149..653L | s2cid=39386614 }}</ref> [[Flower mantis]]es are ambush predators; camouflaged as flowers, such as [[orchid]]s, they attract prey and seize it when it is close enough.<ref>{{cite book |last=Forbes |first=Peter |year=2009 |title=Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-17896-8 |page=134|title-link=Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage }}</ref> [[Frogfish]]es are extremely well camouflaged, and actively lure their prey to approach using an [[Fin ray|esca]], a bait on the end of a rod-like appendage on the head, which they wave gently to mimic a small animal, gulping the prey in an extremely rapid movement when it is within range.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bester |first1=Cathleen |title=Antennarius striatus |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/antennarius-striatus |website=Florida Museum |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=31 January 2018|date=5 May 2017 }}</ref>

===Venom===
{{further|Venom|Evolution of snake venom}}

Many smaller predators such as the [[box jellyfish]] use [[venom]] to subdue their prey,<ref>{{cite book |title=Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition |last1=Ruppert |first1=Edward E. |last2=Fox |first2=Richard, S. |last3=Barnes |first3=Robert D. |year=2004 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-81-315-0104-7 |pages=153–154 }}</ref> and venom can also aid in digestion (as is the case for [[rattlesnake]]s and some [[spider]]s).<ref>{{cite book |author=Cetaruk, Edward W. |chapter=Rattlesnakes and Other Crotalids |editor=Brent, Jeffrey |title=Critical care toxicology: diagnosis and management of the critically poisoned patient |publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8151-4387-1 |page=1075 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WuA4LsWXXWEC&pg=PA1075}}</ref><ref name="Barceloux2008">{{cite book |last=Barceloux |first=Donald G. |title=Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances: Foods, Fungi, Medicinal Herbs, Plants, and Venomous Animals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpqzhHc072AC&pg=PA1028 |year=2008 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-470-33557-4 |page=1028}}</ref> The [[marbled sea snake]] that has adapted to egg predation has atrophied venom glands, and the gene for its three finger toxin contains a [[mutation]] (the deletion of two [[nucleotide]]s) that inactives it. These changes are explained by the fact that its prey does not need to be subdued.<ref name="Li Fry Kini 2005 pp. 81–89">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Min |last2=Fry |first2=B.G. |last3=Kini |first3=R. Manjunatha |title=Eggs-Only Diet: Its Implications for the Toxin Profile Changes and Ecology of the Marbled Sea Snake (Aipysurus eydouxii) |journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution |volume=60 |issue=1 |year=2005 |doi=10.1007/s00239-004-0138-0 |pmid=15696370 |pages=81–89 |bibcode=2005JMolE..60...81L| s2cid=17572816 }}</ref>

===Electric fields===
[[File:Elektroplax_Rochen.png|thumb|An [[electric ray]] ([[Torpediniformes]]) showing location of electric organ and electrocytes stacked within it]]
{{further|Electroreception and electrogenesis|Electric organ (fish)}}

Several groups of predatory fish have the ability to detect, track, and sometimes, as in the [[electric ray]], to incapacitate their prey by [[Electroreception and electrogenesis|sensing and generating electric fields]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1= Castello, M. E. |author2=A. Rodriguez-Cattaneo |author3=P. A. Aguilera |author4=L. Iribarne |author5=A. C. Pereira |author6=A. A. Caputi |title=Waveform generation in the weakly electric fish Gymnotus coropinae (Hoedeman): the electric organ and the electric organ discharge |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=212 |year=2009 |pages=1351–1364 |doi=10.1242/jeb.022566 |issue=9 |pmid=19376956 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2009JExpB.212.1351C }}</ref><ref name="Feulner, P. G., M. Plath, J. Engelmann, F. Kirschbaum, R. Tiedemann 2009 225–228">{{cite journal |author1= Feulner, P. G. |author2=M. Plath |author3=J. Engelmann |author4=F. Kirschbaum |author5=R. Tiedemann |title=Electrifying love: electric fish use species-specific discharge for mate recognition |journal=Biology Letters |volume=5 |issue=2 |year=2009 |pages=225–228 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2008.0566|pmid=19033131 |pmc= 2665802 }}</ref><ref name="Catania2015">{{cite journal |last= Catania |first= Kenneth C. |title= Electric eels use high-voltage to track fast-moving prey |journal= Nature Communications |volume=6 |issue=1 |year=2015 |pages=8638 |doi=10.1038/ncomms9638 |pmid=26485580 |pmc=4667699 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.8638C}}</ref> The electric organ is derived from modified nerve or muscle tissue.<ref name=Kramer1996>{{cite book |doi=10.5283/epub.2108 |date=1996 |last1=Kramer |first1=Bernd |title=Electroreception and communication in fishes |volume=42 |publisher=Universität Regensburg |isbn=978-3-437-25038-5 }}</ref>

===Physiology===

Physiological adaptations to predation include the ability of predatory bacteria to digest the complex [[peptidoglycan]] polymer from the [[cell wall]]s of the bacteria that they prey upon.<ref name="JurkevitchDavidov2006"/> Carnivorous vertebrates of all five major classes (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) have lower relative rates of sugar to [[amino acid]] transport than either herbivores or omnivores, presumably because they acquire plenty of amino acids from the animal [[protein]]s in their diet.<ref name="KarasovDiamond1988">{{cite journal |last1=Karasov |first1=William H. |last2=Diamond |first2=Jared M. |title=Interplay between Physiology and Ecology in Digestion |journal=BioScience |volume=38 |issue=9 |year=1988 |doi=10.2307/1310825 |pages=602–611 |jstor=1310825}}</ref>