Biology 2483A Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Cactus, Crypsis, Muskox

• School: Western University
• Department: Biology
• Course: Biology 2483A
• Professor: Hugh Henry

Document Summary

Over half of the species on earth engage in exploitation, a relationship in which one organism benefits by feeding on, and directly harming, another. Herbivores eat tissues of living plants or algae. Predators kill and eat other organisms, referred to as prey. Parasites live in or on another organism (its host), feeding on parts of it. Not all organisms fit neatly into these categories. Some predators, such as wolves, also eat berries, nuts, and leaves. Parasitoids are insects that lay an egg on or in another insect host. After hatching, the larvae remain in the host, which they eat and often kill. Although predators and herbivores both tend to feed on multiple individuals of prey or food plants in their lifetimes, herbivores don"t usually kill the food organisms as predators do. While some predators forage throughout their habitat in search of food, others are sit-and-wait predators that remain in one place and attack prey that move within striking distance.