| 释义 |
predator Zool.|ˈprɛdətə(r)|
[f. L. prædātor plunderer (see predatory a.); cf. mod.L. Predatores (W. Swainson in Swainson & Shuckard On Hist. & Nat. Arrangement of Insects (1840) ii. iii. 115).]
An animal that preys upon another.
1922W. M. Wheeler Social Life Insects ii. 46 Species that behave in this manner are not true parasites, but extremely economical predators, because they eventually kill their victims. 1931W. C. Allee Animal Aggregations xiv. 246 The struggle for existence between predators and their prey. 1945J. Steinbeck Cannery Row xvii. 69 The little octopi..prefer a bottom on which there are many caves and little crevices..where they may hide from predators. 1959W. Travis Beyond Reefs viii. 165 We all adopted the lazy movements and slow rhythms of these big predators [sc. sharks]. 1971Nature 1 Oct. 345/1 Predators also show a tendency to continue to select a given type of prey, even though other types may be..more easily available.
2. attrib. predator–prey adj. phr., concerning the ecological balance between a predator and its prey.
1946Q. Rev. Biol. XXI. 235/2 In equations depicting predator–prey interactions in lower vertebrates, loss types may substitute naturally for each other. 1968Times 2 Oct. 12/6 This clearly has considerable implications for understanding predator–prey relationships. |