Interactions within a Community The five main types are: Predation Competition Parasitism Mutualism Commensalism

PREDATION In predation, one individual, the predator, captures, kills, and consumes another individual, the prey.

Predators, Prey, and Natural Selection Natural Selection favors adaptations that improve a predator‘s efficiency at finding, capturing, and consuming prey. These adaptations include a shark’s jaws, a scorpion’s claws and stinger, and a spider’s web and fangs

Prey-predation interaction

Graph interpretation The cycles of increase and decrease reflects a predator –prey intercation e.g lions feeding on impalas, lynx feeding on rabbits Prey population reaches higher density than predator population Portion A = geometric phase- rapid increas of prey, predator pop too low to hinder increase More prey means more food for predators and the population increases More predators = increase in mortality of prey Less prey could cause predators to emigrate / die , hence prey population can increase again

Competition Competition occurs when organisms in the same community seek the same limiting resource. This resource may be prey, water, light, nutrients, nest sites, etc. Competition among members of the same species is intraspecific. Competition among individuals of different species is interspecific.

Intraspecific Competition Competition between organisms of the same species

Interspecific Competition Panthera leo Crocuta crocuta Competition between organisms of the different species