Herbivores | Carnivores | |
Trophic level | Primary consumers | Secondary, tertiary consumers |
Eat: | Plants grazers - feed on grass at ground level browsers – feed on tree/shrub leaves at higher level |
Animals prey – live animals killed and eaten carrion – already dead: abandoned kill? |
Composed of | Cell walls - cellulose – not digestible without help from microorganisms in gut Not much protein |
Mainly protein |
Digestive system | Long gut or rumen + other chambers, together with regurgitation and “chewing the cud” | Fairly short gut |
Dentition (specialisation of teeth) |
Incisors to cut grass No canines to allow more intake of plant material Molars usually move sideways to grind vegetable matter and are worn down as a result. Some herbivores have backup teeth which move in from behind! |
Canines to stab and grip prey Molars closely hinged to shear meat off bones, and crush bones |
Nutritional value of food | Low | High |
Ease of digestion of food | Low | High |
Volume of food | High | Low |
Collection time | Long: Grazing (large area of grass) Browsing (systematic picking from trees/shrubs) |
Short : Hunting (usually single targets) ? much “leisure time”? |
Consequences | Exposed for long time to predators from all sides | Much spare time to plan and execute ambushes |
Eyes | All round vision necessary – eyes on side of head | Eyes at front of head – visual overlap enhances distance judgement for pouncing |
Main lifestyle option | Herds – “safety in numbers” Some members may act as lookouts |
Solitary hunters (small prey) or hunt in pack (especially for larger prey) |
Consequences | Consume all the food in one area, and have to move on | Likely to follow prey, or ambush them in certain areas |