What is the Difference Between Predator and Parasite?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main difference between predators and parasites lies in their mode of interaction with their prey or host organisms:
Predators:
- Predators are active organisms that capture and consume other organisms, called prey, for food.
- They typically use intense physical effort to catch their prey.
- Predators are usually larger and stronger than their prey.
- There is no metabolic dependency between the predator and the prey.
- Predators can be found in various ecosystems, and their presence helps maintain the balance of the food web.
Parasites:
- Parasites live at the expense of another organism, called the host, without killing it.
- They are generally passive in their progression and rely on the host for nutrients, resulting in a decrease in the host's fitness.
- Parasites are usually smaller than their host organism.
- There is an intimate association between the parasite and the host, involving metabolic dependency.
- Parasites can cause diseases in the host organism, making them pathogens in some cases.
Parasitoids, a third group, share characteristics of both predators and parasites. They feed on living tissue, like parasites, but they generally kill their host organism in the process.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Predator and Parasite? Comparative Table: Predator vs Parasite
Comparative Table: Predator vs Parasite
Here is a table highlighting the differences between predators and parasites:
| Characteristic | Predators | Parasites |
|---|---|---|
| Etymology | From Latin "praedator" meaning "plunderer" | From Greek "para" meaning "alongside" and "sitos" meaning "meal" |
| Definition | Organisms that consume other organisms | Organisms that live on or inside other organisms and exploit them |
| Relationship with Prey | Predators are typically larger, quicker, and/or stronger than their prey | Parasites are often smaller and weaker than their hosts |
| Nutrition | Take nutrients by killing their prey | Take nutrients from the host organisms |
| Location | Invade the living cells of the host and utilize its resources, causing harm to the host | Live on or inside the host organism, but do not invade its cells |
| Interaction | Interact with several types of prey within the same ecosystem | Interact only with one host organism |
| Size and Strength | Predators are larger and stronger than their prey | Parasites are weaker than their host |
Examples of predators include hawks, rabbits, and tigers. Examples of parasites include protozoan parasites, helminthic parasites, ticks, and lice.
Read more:
- Predator vs Prey
- Parasite vs Parasitoid
- Worms vs Parasites
- Saprophytes vs Parasites
- Parasites vs Partial Parasites
- Commensalism vs Parasitism
- Fungi vs Parasites
- Parasite vs Bacteria
- Parasitism vs Mutualism
- Epiphytes vs Parasites
- Pest vs Insect
- Endoparasites vs Ectoparasites
- Obligate vs Facultative Parasite
- Sex Offender vs Predator
- Protozoa vs Helminths
- Producer vs Consumer
- Saprotrophs vs Saprophytes
- Virus vs Worm
- Malware vs Virus