Ecological Relationships Ms. Blalock, Ms. Hartsell
Directions Use the information in this PowerPoint presentation to respond to questions in your guided notes.
Symbiosis A close and often long term interaction between two or more different species. The relationship between these different species may be neutral, negative or positive. There are 4 types of symbiotic relationships we will explore today Predation Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism
Predation Predation refers to one organism capturing and feeding on another organism Organism Roles Predator: the organism that is doing the killing Prey: the organism that is being eaten (food)
Predation Example Lions eating a buffalo Predator: Lion Prey: buffalo Snake eating a frog Predator: snake Prey: frog
Mutualism Both species in this type of relationship benefit from the interactions that they share It is a “WIN-WIN” situation
Example: Mutualism Insects and flowers Insect: gets nectar and food from flower Flower: the insect spreads the pollen or seeds of the flower so it can continue to reproduce
Commensalism One organism in the relationship benefits and the other organism is neither helped nor harmed It is a “WIN-nothing” situation
Example: Commensalism Barnacles attach to the surface (skin) of whales Barnacles: get nutrients from the whale that allow it to grow Whale: the presence of the barnacles neither harms or benefits the whale in any way
Parasitism One organism lives on or inside of another organism and harms it Parasite: the organism doing the harm Host: the other organism that is being harmed The parasite obtains all or part of its nutrition from the host It is a “WIN-LOSE” situation
Example: Parasitism Ticks attach to dogs and suck the blood from them Ticks: get nutrients from the blood of the dog Dog: can get sick from diseases the tick may carry or can die from blood loss; discomfort (causing irritation to the skin)