Hunting and Feeding

Feeding is fundamental in providing plants and animals with the energy required to undertake various chemical processes within their bodies that are essential for life (Uhlenbroek, 2008, pg 179). There is a wide variety between animals in regards to the food they eat and how it is obtained; from carnivorous bears to herbivorous deer. To achieve this, a range of adaptations have evolved.

Animals are generally classified according to their diet; carnivores eat other animals and so have developed specialized detection methods and behaviours such as stalking, ambushing and co-operating with one another to bring down larger prey (Uhlenbroek, 2008, pg 179).

Herbivorous diets consist of plants and as such they have also formed specialized behaviours that allow them to feed. The evolution of grinding teeth – such as in elephants – allow them to chew tough plants and unique inner organs such as the appendix in koalas allow a diet of entirely eucalyptus leaves (Bollinger et al, 2009).

Omnivores and scavengers feed on a wide variety of food including plants, animals and decaying matter (Clark, 1982). Consequently, they often lack any highly specialized adaptation but instead require the flexibility to utilise such a wide range of food (Uhlenbroek, 2008, pg 179).

These different types of feeding behaviours and adaptations allow for the development of food webs within ecosystems.

References:

Clark, D.A. (1982). Foraging Behavior of a Vertebrate Omnivore (Rattus Rattus): Meal Structure, Sampling, and Diet Breadth. ESA Ecology, 63(3), 763-772.

Bollinger, R.R., Everett, M.L., Fisher, R.E., Parker, W., Smith, H.F.& Thomas, A.D. (2009). Comparative anatomy and phylogenetic distribution of the mammalian cecal appendix. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22(10), 1984-1999.

Uhlenbroek, C. (2008). Animal Life. Penguin Group, UK.