1 / 21

Understanding Species Interactions in Ecology

Explore the fascinating world of species interactions through predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism. Learn about how organisms interact, such as predators hunting prey, competitors vying for resources, parasites weakening hosts, mutualistic relationships benefiting both species, and commensal arrangements where one species gains without harming the other.

josephadams
Download Presentation

Understanding Species Interactions in Ecology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Ecology Part 2 How species interact with each other

  2. Interactions • 5 types of species interactions • Predation • Competition • Parasitism • Mutualism • commensalism

  3. Predation • One organism kills and eats the other organism • The organism that is eaten is called the prey

  4. Predator- the one that does the eating

  5. Familiar examples • Lions feeding on zebras • Cougars eating deer • Snakes eating mice • Blue whale – the largest animal on earth- feeds on small krill ( shrimplike marine animals)

  6. Blue Whale • Also a predator because it feeds on krill-tiny shrimplike marine animals

  7. Krill

  8. Predators • Tend to feed on young and weak • As populations of prey decline, the predators either switch to other prey or begin to die off themselves

  9. Competitions • When 2 or more organisms of the same or different species attempt to use the same LIMITED resource

  10. Competition • Can also be between plants • Competing for limited sunlight in the forest

  11. Competition Examples • Panda bears compete with humans for bamboo • Imported kudzu vines cover native plants and trees (NC) • Imported fire ants compete with native ants for territory

  12. Species can compete even if they do not come Into contact with each other An insect species feeds on a flower during the day And another species feeds on the same flower at night

  13. Parasitism • What do ticks, fleas, viruses, tapeworms, leeches ( other than fishing) and mistletoe all have in common? • Parasites- organisms that live on or in another organism • They feed on it without IMMEDIATELY killing it

  14. Plants and animals are weakened by parasites • Making them more vulnerable to predators • Host- the organism the parasite takes its nourishment from • Fee

  15. Mutualism • A cooperative partnership between two species in which both benefit

  16. How is bacteria useful? • Billions of bacteria live in our intestines (yuck) • However—without them we could not break down certain foods • it would just be hanging out in our intestines forever

  17. Bacteria also • Produce necessary substances your body cannot make • Vitamin k which is essential for proper blood clotting

  18. Acacia Trees and Ants • These trees provide food –nectar and nesting places in the thorns for the ants • Ants defend the tree from grasshoppers/ beetles (herbivores)

  19. commensalism • One species benefits and the other is not harmed nor helped • Remora fish attaches to a shark • They feed on the shark’s leftovers

More Related