Symbiotic Relationships

Symbiotic Relationships Symbiosis- relationship between 2 organisms

3 Types of Symbiosis Mutualism- both species benefit from the relationship. Commensalism- one organism benefits, one organism is neither harmed or helped Parasitism- one organism lives on hosts and benefits, the host is harmed or killed

Mutualism A flower gets its pollen passed to another plant and the insect gets nectar from the flower.

Commensalism Barnacles are crustaceans that attach themselves to whales. They benefit by coming into contact with food but do not harm or benefit the whale.

Parasitism The mosquito gets nutrients from the host and in turn the host is harmed.

Predation Predator- organism that does the killing and eating Prey- organism that is eaten

What type of relationship? The small fish below the shark uses the shark as protection and eats its leftovers.

What type of relationship? Isopods are known as “fish lice” because they attach themselves to fish and feed off of their fluids.

What type of relationship? The sea anemone protects the crab from predators.

What type of relationship? Canine heart infected with heartworms.

The picture below was taken of a squirrel sitting on a branch just above its nest. Identify the relationship depicted in the image and defend your answer.

What is a habitat? Habitat- area where an organism lives. It includes abiotic and biotic factors.

What is a niche? Niche- an organisms occupation in its habitat. Its how the organism uses the conditions in the environment. EX: how it gets its food and how it avoids its predators.

Example The bullfrog catches insects, worms and small fish. His predators are raccoons and snakes. It spends its life near water and can vary its temperature to match the water.

Competition Struggle for resources or mates between organisms

Assignment- What type of symbiosis? On a separate sheet of paper, write the question # and the answer. 1. A particular species of a unicellular organism inhabits the intestines of termites, where the unicellular organisms are protected from predators. Wood that is ingested by the termites is digested by the unicellular organisms, forming food for the termites.  

2. Mistletoe grows on trees 2. Mistletoe grows on trees. It sends its roots into the tree and uses the nutrients that could otherwise be used by the tree. Therefore, the tree does not get to use all the nutrients and usually dies. 3. Lichen species are made up of a fungus that contains either a bacterium or an alga. The fungus protects the bacterium or alga, and the bacterium or alga provides food for the fungus.

4. The honey bee gets to eat the pollen from the flower 4. The honey bee gets to eat the pollen from the flower. The dandelion uses the bee to spread its pollen to another flower. 5. An American Robin benefits by building its nest in a Red Maple tree. The tree is unaffected. 6. The tick gets food from the deer without killing it. The deer is harmed by losing blood to the tick, and possibly by getting an infected wound.

7. Oxpeckers land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control. 8. Spider crabs live in shallow areas of the ocean floor, and greenish-brown algae lives on the crabs' backs, making the crabs blend in with their environment, and unnoticeable to predators. The algae get a good place to live, and the crab gets camouflage. 9. The human body can not digest all of the food that it eats. The bacteria, in the intestines, eat the food that the human can not digest and partially digest it, allowing the human to finish the job. The bacteria benefit by getting food, and the human benefits by being able to digest the food it eats.

10. The cleaner fish remove parasitic fish and diseased tissue from larger fish’s scales, gills, or mouths. The cleaner fish get a meal and the larger fish get cleaned.      11. The sea fan works as a camouflage for the seahorse, and the sea horse benefits because of the deception from the predators. 12. Many species of moss or algae may live on the bark of a tree. The tree is completely unaffected and the moss or algae has a place to live. 13. Ladybugs live on plants, eating the aphids and benefiting by getting food, while the plant benefits by being rid of the aphids.

14. A flea bites a dog drinking its blood supply 14. A flea bites a dog drinking its blood supply. The dog gets small bumps on its skin causing it to itch.   15. Birds and mammals eat berries and fruit off of plants in the wild. The birds and mammals derive a food benefit by eating the berries and fruits. The plant, in turn, disperses it seeds. 16. Some ant species use excess plant sap for their own nutrition. These ants will find a colony of aphids and milk the waste plant sap from the cornicles. In return the ants protect the aphids from predators and parasites. 17. The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) forages in pastures and fields among livestock such as cattle and horses, feeding on the insects stirred up by the movement of the grazing animals.

18. The clownfish lives among the forest of tentacles of an anemone and is protected from potential predators not immune to the sting of the anemone. The clownfish is protected from the sting of the anemone tentacles by a substance contained in the mucous on its skin.   19. Barnacles live by using long, feathering appendages to sweep the surrounding water for small, free-floating organisms. The critical resource for barnacles is a place to stay. Barnacles attach to rocks, ships, shells, whales, and just about anywhere else they can gain a foothold.

A few species of pseudo-scorpions disperse by concealing themselves under the wing covers of large beetles. The pseudo-scorpions gain the advantage of being dispersed over wide areas while simultaneously being protected from predators. The beetle is, presumably, unaffected by the presence of the hitchhikers. The Viceroy butterfly is not distasteful. However by mimicking the pattern of the Monarch butterfly it is also avoided by birds and other vertebrates. 22. Head lice is found on the scalp of humans. The lice feed off of your dead skin causing your head to itch.