Editing Predation (section)

==Taxonomic range==
{{further|Carnivorous plant|Nematophagous fungus|Seed predation|Egg predation}}

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|caption1 = [[Carnivorous plant]]: [[sundew]] engulfing an insect
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|caption2 = [[Seed predation]]: [[African pygmy mouse|mouse]] eating seeds
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While examples of predators among mammals and birds are well known,<ref name=Stevens2010/> predators can be found in a broad range of taxa including arthropods. They are common among insects, including mantids, [[Dragonfly|dragonflies]], [[Neuroptera|lacewings]] and [[Mecoptera|scorpionflies]]. In some species such as the [[alderfly]], only the larvae are predatory (the adults do not eat). Spiders are predatory, as well as other terrestrial invertebrates such as [[scorpion]]s; [[centipede]]s; some [[mite]]s, [[snail]]s and [[slug]]s; [[nematode]]s; and [[Planarian|planarian worms]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Predators, parasites and parasitoids |url=https://australianmuseum.net.au/predators-parasites-and-parasitoids |website=Australian Museum |access-date=19 September 2018 |language=en}}</ref> In marine environments, most [[cnidaria]]ns (e.g., [[jellyfish]], [[hydroid (zoology)|hydroids]]), [[ctenophora]] (comb jellies), [[echinoderm]]s (e.g., [[sea stars]], [[sea urchin]]s, [[sand dollar]]s, and [[sea cucumber]]s) and [[flatworm]]s are predatory.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Watanabe|first1=James M. |title=Invertebrates, overview |editor-last1=Denny |editor-first1=Mark W. |editor-last2=Gaines |editor-first2=Steven Dean |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of tidepools and rocky shores |date=2007 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=9780520251182}}</ref> Among [[crustacean]]s, [[lobster]]s, [[crab]]s, [[shrimp]]s and [[barnacle]]s are predators,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Phelan |first1=Jay |title=What Is life? : a guide to biology |date=2009 |publisher=W.H. Freeman & Co |isbn=9781429223188 |page=432 |edition=Student}}</ref> and in turn crustaceans are preyed on by nearly all [[cephalopod]]s (including [[octopus]]es, [[squid]] and [[cuttlefish]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Villanueva |first1=Roger |last2=Perricone |first2=Valentina |last3=Fiorito |first3=Graziano |title=Cephalopods as Predators: A Short Journey among Behavioral Flexibilities, Adaptions, and Feeding Habits |journal=Frontiers in Physiology |date=17 August 2017 |volume=8 |pages=598 |doi=10.3389/fphys.2017.00598|pmid=28861006 |pmc=5563153 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:Инфузория туфелька поедает бактерии!.gif|thumb|''[[Paramecium]]'', a predatory [[ciliate]], feeding on [[bacteria]]]]

Seed predation is restricted to mammals, birds, and insects but is found in almost all terrestrial ecosystems.<ref name=HulmeBenkman2002>{{cite book |last1=Hulme |first1=P. E. |last2=Benkman |first2=C. W. |year=2002 |chapter =Granivory |pages=132–154 |title=Plant animal Interactions: An Evolutionary Approach |editor1=C. M. Herrera |editor2=O. Pellmyr |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-0-632-05267-7}}</ref><ref name=Janzen/> Egg predation includes both specialist egg predators such as some [[colubrid]] [[snake]]s and generalists such as foxes and badgers that opportunistically take eggs when they find them.<ref name="HanssenErikstad2012">{{cite journal |last1=Hanssen |first1=Sveinn Are |last2=Erikstad |first2=Kjell Einar |title=The long-term consequences of egg predation |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=24 |issue=2 |date=2012 |doi=10.1093/beheco/ars198 |pages=564–569|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Pike Clark Manica Tseng p. ">{{cite journal |last1=Pike |first1=David A. |last2=Clark |first2=Rulon W. |last3=Manica |first3=Andrea |last4=Tseng |first4=Hui-Yun |last5=Hsu |first5=Jung-Ya |last6=Huang |first6=Wen-San |title=Surf and turf: predation by egg-eating snakes has led to the evolution of parental care in a terrestrial lizard |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=22207 |date=26 February 2016 |doi=10.1038/srep22207|pmid=26915464 |pmc=4768160 |bibcode=2016NatSR...622207P }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.1014.6960 |date=2016 |last1=Ainsworth |first1=Gillian B. |last2=Calladine |first2=John |last3=Martay |first3=Blaise |last4=Park |first4=Kirsty |last5=Redpath |first5=Steve |last6=Wernham |first6=Chris |last7=Wilson |first7=Mark |last8=Young |first8=Juliette |title=UNDERSTANDING PREDATION - A review bringing together natural science and local knowledge of recent wild bird population changes and their drivers in Scotland }}</ref>

Some plants, like the [[pitcher plant]], the [[Venus fly trap]] and the [[sundew]], are [[carnivorous plant|carnivorous and consume insects]].<ref name=Stevens2010/> Methods of predation by plants varies greatly but often involves a food trap, mechanical stimulation, and electrical impulses to eventually catch and consume its prey.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hedrich |first1=Rainer |last2=Fukushima |first2=Kenji |date=20 May 2021 |title=On the Origin of Carnivory: Molecular Physiology and Evolution of Plants on an Animal Diet |journal=Annual Review of Plant Biology |volume=72 |issue=1 |at=annurev–arplant–080620-010429 |doi=10.1146/annurev-arplant-080620-010429 |pmid=33434053 |s2cid=231595236 |issn=1543-5008|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021AnRPB..72..133H }}</ref> Some [[nematophagous fungus|carnivorous fungi]] catch [[nematode]]s using either active traps in the form of constricting rings, or passive traps with adhesive structures.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pramer, D. |year=1964 |title=Nematode-trapping fungi |journal=Science |volume=144 |issue=3617 |pages=382–388 |jstor=1713426|doi=10.1126/science.144.3617.382 |pmid=14169325 |bibcode=1964Sci...144..382P }}</ref>

Many species of [[protozoa]] ([[eukaryote]]s) and [[bacteria]] ([[prokaryote]]s) prey on other microorganisms; the feeding mode is evidently ancient, and evolved many times in both groups.<ref name=VelicerMendes-Soares2007/><ref name=Stevens2010/><ref name="JurkevitchDavidov2006">{{cite book |last1=Jurkevitch |first1=Edouard |last2=Davidov |first2=Yaacov |title=Predatory Prokaryotes |url=https://archive.org/details/predatoryprokary00jurk |url-access=limited |chapter=Phylogenetic Diversity and Evolution of Predatory Prokaryotes |publisher=Springer |date=2006 |isbn=978-3-540-38577-6 |doi=10.1007/7171_052 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/predatoryprokary00jurk/page/n17 11]–56}}</ref> Among freshwater and marine [[zooplankton]], whether single-celled or multi-cellular, predatory grazing on [[phytoplankton]] and smaller zooplankton is common, and found in many species of [[nanoflagellate]]s, [[dinoflagellate]]s, [[ciliate]]s, [[rotifer]]s, a diverse range of [[meroplankton]] animal larvae, and two groups of crustaceans, namely [[copepod]]s and [[cladocera]]ns.<ref name="HansenBjørnsenHansen1997">{{cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=Per Juel |last2=Bjørnsen |first2=Peter Koefoed |last3=Hansen |first3=Benni Winding |title=Zooplankton grazing and growth: Scaling within the 2-2,-μm body size range |journal=Limnology and Oceanography |volume=42 |issue=4 |year=1997 |doi=10.4319/lo.1997.42.4.0687 |pages=687–704 |bibcode=1997LimOc..42..687H |doi-access=free }} summarizes findings from many authors.</ref>