What is the term for the population interaction in which a free-living organism catches, kills, and devours individuals of other species as prey?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Predation
In predation, a free-living animal, the predator, catches, kills and eats an individual of another species, its prey. The book calls predation nature’s way of passing the energy fixed by plants to higher trophic levels. The tiger and the deer come to mind first, but a sparrow eating a seed is also a predator.
Option (1) Parasitism — Incorrect. A parasite lives on or inside its host and feeds on it, usually without killing it at once. It is not free-living.
Option (2) Predation — Correct. The predator is free-living and kills its prey for food. This is predation.
Option (3) Mutualism — Incorrect. In mutualism both species benefit. The prey is killed, so it gains nothing.
Option (4) Commensalism — Incorrect. In commensalism one species gains and the other is neither harmed nor benefited. The prey is killed, so it is harmed.
NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “… (i) Predation: What would happen to all the energy fixed by autotrophic organisms if the community has no animals to eat the plants? You can think of predation as nature’s way of transferring to higher trophic levels the energy fixed by plants. When we think of predator and prey, most probably it is the tiger and the deer that readily come to our mind, but a sparrow eating any seed is no less a predator.”