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Notes: Interactions Among Living Things. Chapter 20 Section 3. Natural Selection. Natural selection works like this: Individuals whose unique characteristics are best suited for their environment tend to survive and produce offspring
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Notes: Interactions Among Living Things Chapter 20 Section 3
Natural Selection • Natural selection works like this: • Individuals whose unique characteristics are best suited for their environment tend to survive and produce offspring • Offspring that inherit these characteristics also survive to reproduce • Natural selection results in adaptations.
Adaptation • The behaviors and physical characteristics that allow organisms to live successfully in their environments. • Every organism has a variety of adaptations that are suited to its specific living conditions
Niche • The role of an organism in its environment. • A niche includes: • type of food the organism eats • how it obtains its food • which other organisms eat the organism as food • When and how the organism reproduces • Physical conditions it requires to survive
3 Types of Interactions that occur among organisms • Competition • Predation • Symbiosis
1. Competition • The struggle for organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource • Resources: food, water and shelter
2. Predation • Interaction where one organism kills another for food. • A predator is the hunter and the prey is the food.
Population Size • Predation can have a major effect on the size of a population
Predator Adaptations • Predators have adaptations that help them catch and kill their prey. • Examples: • Cheetah’s speed • Jellyfish’s tentacles • Owl’s eyes
Prey Adaptations • Organisms have many different kinds of adaptations that help them avoid becoming prey. • Examples: • Camouflage • Mimicry • Protective covering • Warning coloring
Camouflage • An adaptation that lets an animal hide by blending into its environment
Mimicry • An adaptation where an animal copies the appearance of another animal.
What is symbiosis? Literal definition:the act of living together What it means: Two organisms that live together Temporarily or for a longer time At least one of the organisms benefits from the relationship
What are the different kinds of symbiosis? Mutualism Commensalism • both organisms benefit • one organism benefits • one organism benefits Parasitism • one organism is unaffected • one organism is harmed