1. How do organisms benefit from interactions?

2. Unit Standards
5.L.4B.1
Analyze and Interpret data to explain how organisms obtain their energy and classify organisms as producers, consumers (including herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore), or decomposers (such as Fungi, Bacteria insects and molds).
5.L.4B.2
Develop and use models of food chains and food webs to describe the flow of energy in an ecosystem.
5.L.4B.3
Construct explanations for how organisms interact with each other in an ecosystem (including predators and prey, and parasites and hosts).
5.L.4B.4
Construct scientific arguments to explain how limiting factors (including food, water, space, and shelter) or newly introduced organisms can affect an ecosystem.

3. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Living things in an ecosystem depend on one another.
All animals in an ecosystem depend on plants and other producers for food.
Plants depend on animals for carbon dioxide.
These interlocking relationships are examples of interdependence.

4. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Interdependence- is the reliance of organisms on other organisms for their survival

5. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Symbiosis- a relationship between two or more kinds of organisms that lasts over time.

6. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Mutualism- a symbiotic relationship that benefits both organisms.

7. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
A pollinator and a flowering plant provide an example of mutualism.
The pollinator, usually an insect or bird, gets sweet nectar from the flower.
The plants get its pollen transported to the pistil of another flower.
Both organisms gain from the relationship.

8. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
An example of mutualism is seen in the relationship between ants and acacia trees.
The tree provides a home and food for the ant.
The ant in turn defend the tree against other insect pests.
Scientists used chemicals to get rid of the ants on an acacia.
Without the ants, the tree soon died.

9. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Another example of mutualism can be seen in lichens.
A lichen is actually two different organisms—algae and fungi—that live together.
The fungus provides the algae with a home and nutrients.
As a result, the algae does not dry out.
The algae in turn, provides the fungus with food and oxygen.

10. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Commensalism- a symbiotic relationship that benefits one organism without harming the other

11. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Remora are fish that attach themselves to the bodies of rays and sharks.
The remora gets food scraps, transportation, and protection from the ray.
While the remora does not hurt the ray in any way, it does not help it either.

12. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Other examples of commensalism include the growth of orchids on trees in the rainforest.
Rather than root in the ground, orchids anchor themselves high in a tree.
This situation helps the orchid.
It does not hurt the tree or help the tree.

13. How do organisms benefit from interactions?
Barnacles growing on the backs of whales are also commensal. The barnacles gain a home. The whales are not hurt by the barnacles.