Predation
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| - | '''Henri Désiré Landru''' (born April 12, 1869 in [[Paris]], France – executed February 25, 1922 in [[Versailles]], France) was a notorious [[French serial killer]] and real-life [[Bluebeard]]. | + | In [[ecology]], '''predation''' describes a [[biological interaction]] where a '''predator''' (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its '''prey''' (the organism that is attacked). Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to [[feeding]] on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption. Other categories of [[heterotroph|consumption]] are [[herbivory]] (eating parts of plants) and [[detritivore|detritivory]], the consumption of dead organic material ([[detritus]]). All these consumption categories fall under the rubric of [[consumer-resource systems]]. It can often be difficult to separate various types of [[List of feeding behaviours|feeding behaviors]]. For example, some parasitic species prey on a host organism and then lay their eggs on it for their offspring to feed on it while it continues to live or on its decaying corpse after it has died. The key characteristic of predation however is the predator's direct impact on the prey population. On the other hand, detritivores simply eat dead organic material arising from the decay of dead individuals and have no direct impact on the "donor" organism(s). |
| - | ==Method== | + | |
| - | Landru began to put advertisements in the [[Personal advertisement|lonely hearts]] sections in Paris newspapers, usually along the lines of ''"Widower with two children, aged 43, with comfortable income, serious and moving in good society, desires to meet widow with a view to matrimony."'' With [[World War I]] underway, many men were being cut down in the trenches, leaving plenty of widows upon whom Landru could [[prey]]. | + | [[Selective pressure]]s imposed on one another often leads to an [[evolutionary arms race]] between prey and predator, resulting in various [[antipredator adaptation]]s. |
| - | ==Biography== | + | |
| - | Landru was born in Paris. After leaving school, he spent four years in the [[French Army]] from 1887 – 1891. After he was discharged from service, he proceeded to have a sexual relationship with his cousin. She bore him a daughter, although Landru did not marry her but instead married another woman two years later and had four children. He was shortly swindled out of money by a fraudulent employer, which apparently both infuriated and inspired him at the same time. He turned to fraud himself, operating scams that usually involved swindling elderly widows. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 1900 after being arrested and found guilty of fraud, the first of several such convictions. By 1914, Landru was estranged from his wife and working as a second-hand furniture dealer. | + | The unifying theme in all classifications of predation is the predator lowering the [[fitness (biology)|fitness]] of its prey, or put another way, it reduces its prey's chances of survival, reproduction, or both. Ways of classifying predation surveyed here include grouping by [[trophic level]] or diet, by specialization, and by the nature of the predator's interaction with prey. |
| - | Landru began to put advertisements in the [[Personal advertisement|lonely hearts]] sections in Paris newspapers, usually along the lines of ''"Widower with two children, aged 43, with comfortable income, serious and moving in good society, desires to meet widow with a view to matrimony."'' With [[World War I]] underway, many men were being cut down in the trenches, leaving plenty of widows upon whom Landru could [[prey]]. | + | ==Etymology== |
| - | + | From Latin [[praeda]]. | |
| - | Landru would seduce the women who came to his Parisian villa and, after he been given access to their assets, he would kill them - probably by strangulation or stabbing - and burn their dismembered bodies in his oven. Between 1914 and 1918, Landru claimed 11 victims: 10 women plus the teenaged son of one of his victims. With no bodies, the victims were just listed as missing, and it was virtually impossible for the police to know what had happened to them as Landru used a wide variety of aliases. His aliases were so numerous that he had to keep a ledger listing all the women with whom he corresponded and which particular identity he used for each woman. | + | |
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| - | In 1919, the sister of one of Landru's victims, Madame Buisson, attempted to track down her missing sibling. She did not know Landru's real name but she knew his appearance and where he lived, and she eventually persuaded the police to arrest him. Originally, Landru was charged only with [[embezzlement]]. He refused to talk to police, and with no bodies (police dug up his garden, but with no results), there was seemingly not enough evidence to charge him with murder. However, policemen did eventually find various bits of paperwork that listed the missing women, including Madame Buisson, and combining those with other documents, they finally built up enough evidence to charge him with murder. | + | |
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| - | Landru stood trial on 11 counts of murder in November 1921. He was convicted on all counts, sentenced to death, and [[guillotine]]d three months later in [[Versailles]]. Forty years later, there was a rumour that the daughter of Landru's lawyer ([[Vincent de Moro-Giafferi]]) found a picture Landru had drawn whilst awaiting execution, and on the back of it he had apparently written, "I did it. I burned their bodies in my kitchen stove". | + | |
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| - | ==In popular culture== | + | |
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| - | Landru was the inspiration for [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s film ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'' (1947). The original story was written by [[Orson Welles]], who originally wanted to direct the film with Chaplin in the title role. However, since Chaplin did not like to be directed by anyone but himself, Chaplin bought the story from Welles. Chaplin then wrote, directed, and starred in ''Monsieur Verdoux'' himself. | + | |
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| - | The 1960 film, ''Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons'', starred [[George Sanders]] as Landru. | + | |
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| - | The 1962 film, directed by [[Claude Chabrol]], ''[[Landru]]'', was inspired by the events. | + | |
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| - | The 1963 episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', "[[The New Exhibit]]", featured a wax museum statue of Landru armed with a [[garrote]] as part of a collection of notorious serial killers. | + | |
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| - | In the 1989 [[Joe Dante]] movie [[The 'burbs]], the murderous Klopek's have a pet dog named Landru. | + | |
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| - | A 2005 French movie named [http://imdb.com/title/tt0442768/ Désiré Landru] is another adaptation of this story. | + | |
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| - | The best account in English is Bardens, Dennis. ''The Ladykiller: The Life of Landru, the French Bluebeard''. London: Peter Davies, c, 1972. Also recommended is Bolitho, William. ''Murder for Profit'' New York: Harper and Brothers, 1926, Chapter five: ''The Poetry of Desire Landru''. | + | |
| + | == See also == | ||
| + | * [[Bird of prey]] | ||
| + | * ''[[Built for the Kill]]'', a major nature series on the habits of predatory animals | ||
| + | * [[Consumer-resource systems]] | ||
| + | * [[Overpopulation in wild animals]] | ||
| + | * [[Prey drive]] | ||
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Revision as of 09:52, 20 January 2012
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In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its prey (the organism that is attacked). Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption. Other categories of consumption are herbivory (eating parts of plants) and detritivory, the consumption of dead organic material (detritus). All these consumption categories fall under the rubric of consumer-resource systems. It can often be difficult to separate various types of feeding behaviors. For example, some parasitic species prey on a host organism and then lay their eggs on it for their offspring to feed on it while it continues to live or on its decaying corpse after it has died. The key characteristic of predation however is the predator's direct impact on the prey population. On the other hand, detritivores simply eat dead organic material arising from the decay of dead individuals and have no direct impact on the "donor" organism(s).
Selective pressures imposed on one another often leads to an evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, resulting in various antipredator adaptations.
The unifying theme in all classifications of predation is the predator lowering the fitness of its prey, or put another way, it reduces its prey's chances of survival, reproduction, or both. Ways of classifying predation surveyed here include grouping by trophic level or diet, by specialization, and by the nature of the predator's interaction with prey.
Etymology
From Latin praeda.
See also
- Bird of prey
- Built for the Kill, a major nature series on the habits of predatory animals
- Consumer-resource systems
- Overpopulation in wild animals
- Prey drive
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