= Predator
A <predator> is an <organism> that consumes <prey> through <predation>. A <predator> need not occupy the highest <trophic level> of an <ecosystem>, and the label does not specify its size or guarantee that it has no <predators> of its own. In the illustrative <food chain>, the small <fish> is a <predator> at level 3 and also <prey> for the large <fish> at level 4. Separating these relational labels from <species> names prevents a misleading division of the world into permanent <predator> and <prey> categories.
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