1. What Shapes an Ecoysystem?
Weather
Day-to-day conditions
Climate
Average, year-to-year conditions of temperature and precipitation
Habitat
The area where an organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factors that affect it

2. Niche
The range of physical and biological conditions in which a species lives
A species “job”, including habitat and place in the food web
Resource
Any necessity of life
Water, nutrients, light, space, etc.

3. Competition Competition
When organisms (of the same or different species) attempt to use a resource in the same place at the same time.
No two species can occupy the same niche in the same area at the same time
Negative interaction for both organisms

4. Competition Example
Trees in the forest competing for sunlight

5. Competition Example
Birds competing for nesting site

6. Competition Example
Two wolves competing for food

7. Community Interactions
Predation
The interaction in which one species (the predator) captures and feeds on another species (the prey)
+/-

8. Predation Example
Bear eating a fish

9. Predation Example
Lion eating a Cape Buffalo

10. Predation Example
Lynx chasing a hare

11. Predation Example
Mantis eating a bee

12. Community Interactions
Symbiosis
Any relationship in which two species live closely together
3 Types
Mutualism (+/+)
Commensalism (+/0)
Parasitism (+/-)

13. Mutualism
Both species benefit
(+/+)

14. Examples of Mutualism
Tickbirds perched on a black rhinoceros get food and help the rhino get rid of pests

15. Mutualism Example: Nile Crocodile & Egyptian Plover Bird
No floss? No Problem!

16. More Examples of Mutualism
You and a species of bacteria that lives in your intestines benefit each other! The bacteria get a plentiful food supply from you and in return you get vitamins that the bacteria produce.

17. Commensalism
One member benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed
(+/ 0)

18. Examples of Commensalism
Remoras hitch a ride and feed on scraps of food left by sharks. The remoras benefit from this relationship while sharks are unaffected.

19. Examples of Commensalism
The Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is often found in pastures where there are many cattle. As the cows graze, insects are stirred up by their movement and this provides nourishment for the egrets.

20. Parasitism
One organism (the parasite) benefits by living on or inside another organism (the host) and harms it
(+/-)

21. Parasitism
The parasite gets nourishment from its host, which is weakened in the process.
Some (ex: ticks) live outside the host’s body
Some (ex. tapeworms) live inside the host’s body.

22. More Examples of Parasitism
A louse on a human scalp receives nourishment from the blood and causes a rash or irritation.

23. More Examples of Parasitism
A flea uses the blood of the rabbit for nourishment.