Scavenger
Scavengers are animals that feed on dead and decaying organic matter.[1][2] Often the term is used to describe the consumption of carrion, the bodies of animals that have died from causes other than predation or the bodies of animals that have been killed by other predators.[3] However, the term is also used to describe animals that feed on rotting plant matter[2][4] or refuse.[1]
Vultures and burying beetles are examples of scavengers that feed on carrion,[5] pink bud moth and stag beetle larvae are examples of scavengers that feed on rotting plant matter,[6][7] and raccoons and squirrels are examples of scavengers that feed on refuse.[8] Carrion-eating scavengers are called necrophages.[9] Scavengers play an important role in ecosystems by preventing the accumulation of decaying matter and helping to recycle nutrients. Detritivores and decomposers complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers.[2][10][11]
The ability of an animal to scavenge helps it overcome fluctuations in food availability.[12] The process and rate at which dead plant and animal material is scavenged is affected by both biotic and abiotic factors, such as plant species, carcass size, habitat, temperature, moisture levels, and seasons.[13][14][15]
- ^ a b "Scavenger (in Merriam-Webster Dictionary)". Springfield: Merriam-Webster. 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Scavenger (in National Geographic)". Washington DC: National Geographic Society. 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
- ^ Tan, CKW; Corlett, RT (2011). "Scavenging of dead invertebrates along an urbanisation gradient in Singapore". Insect Conservation and Diversity. 5 (2): 138–145. doi:10.1111/j.1752-4598.2011.00143.x. ISSN 1752-458X. S2CID 86467187.
- ^ Getz, W (2011). "Biomass transformation webs provide a unified approach to consumer–resource modelling". Ecology Letters. 14 (2): 113–124. Bibcode:2011EcolL..14..113G. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01566.x. PMC 3032891. PMID 21199247.
- ^ Cushnie, TP; Luang-In, V; Sexton, DW (2025). "Necrophages and necrophiles: a review of their antibacterial defenses and biotechnological potential". Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. 45 (3): 625–642. doi:10.1080/07388551.2024.2389175. PMID 39198023.
- ^ Areces-Berazain, F (2022). "Pyroderces rileyi (pink scavenger caterpillar)". CABI Compendium 45989. doi:10.1079/cabicompendium.45989.
- ^ Songvorawit, N; Areekul Butcher, B; Chaisuekul, C (2017). "Decaying wood preference of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in a tropical dry-evergreen forest". Environmental Entomology. 46 (6): 1322–1328. doi:10.1093/ee/nvx143. PMID 29069306.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Wu, KJ (2023). "Junk food is bad for you. Is it bad for raccoons?". Washington, DC: The Atlantic. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
- ^ Park, C; Allaby, M (2017). Necrophage (in A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation) (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 288. ISBN 9780191826320. See also: "Necrophage (in Oxford Reference)". Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
- ^ Walker, JR; Evans, KL; Jeffreys, RM; Pahlevani, M; Parr, CL (2024). "Urban scavenging: vertebrates display greater sensitivity to land-cover and garden vegetation cover than invertebrates". Urban Ecosystems. 27 (6): 2557–2567. doi:10.1007/s11252-024-01604-3.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ DeBruyn, JM; Keenan, SW; Taylor, LS (2025). "From carrion to soil: microbial recycling of animal carcasses". Trends in Microbiology. 33 (2): 194–207. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2024.09.003. PMID 39358066.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Castilla, AM; Richer, R; Herrel, A; Conkey, AAT; Tribuna, J; Al-Thani, M (2011). "First evidence of scavenging behaviour in the herbivorous lizard Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis". Journal of Arid Environments. 75 (7): 671–673. Bibcode:2011JArEn..75..671C. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.02.005. ISSN 0140-1963.
- ^ Turner, KL; Abernethy, EF; Conner, LM; Rhodes, OE; Beasley, JC (2017). "Abiotic and biotic factors modulate carrion fate and vertebrate scavenging communities". Ecology. 98 (9): 2413–2424. Bibcode:2017Ecol...98.2413T. doi:10.1002/ecy.1930. ISSN 0012-9658. PMID 28628191.
- ^ Leung, TKC; Bonebrake, TC (2021). "Abundance, distribution and substrate association of Hong Kong stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in secondary forests". Insect Conservation and Diversity. 14 (5): 609–619. doi:10.1111/icad.12492.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Thomaes, A; Christiaens, B; Goessens, S; Tagliani, A (2024). "Evaluating log piles as stag beetle conservation measure". Journal of Insect Conservation. 28 (4): 811–819. doi:10.1007/s10841-024-00603-1.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)