Understanding Living Things Interaction and Adaptation in Ecosystems

1. How Living things interact

2. Adapting to the Environment • All organisms within ecosystems have a special set of characteristics that affect their ability to survive in their environment

3. Natural Selection • Natural Selection- A characteristic that makes an individual better suited to its environment. Eventually this trait may become common in that species because it is passed from parent to offspring.

4. “Survival of the Fittest” • Ever heard of this? Organisms with unique characteristics are better suited to survive in their environment. They tend to survive. They then pass these good traits on to their offspring.

5. Adaptations • A result of natural selection • Adaptations- the behaviors and physical characteristics that allow organisms to live successfully in their environments. • If they do not well suited to survive in their environment they will not reproduce as much. What will happen to them?

6. What is a Niche? • Each organism has a role in an ecosystem based on its adaptations to its environment. Each organism’s role in its habitat is called its niche. This involves the type of food they eat, how it obtains food, and others that prey on this organism. A niche is also the physical conditions and how the organismreproduces.

7. Predator Adaptations • An adaptation that helps them catch their prey. For example a horse shoe bat sends out sound waves and located its prey by listening for the echo.

8. Prey Adaptations • Organisms avoid being eaten by their predators by using certain adaptations

9. Prey’s Defense Strategies • Mimicry- disguising their appearance as a threatening organism. • An example is this caterpillar. Its rear end looks like a snake!!

11. Prey Adaptations • Another defense strategy is camouflage • Camouflage- when an organism’s appearance blends in with its typical surroundings

12. Another Defense Strategy • Warning color- bright colored animals warn their predators that they are poisonous, or just won’t taste good!

13. Types of Interactions • Three types:1) Competition- the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource . If an animal has a unique adaptation that reduces competition between organisms.

14. The elf owl and the roadrunner both live in the sanguaro desert and they both eat insects. They compete for food, but do not occupy exactly the same niche. While the roadrunner is mostly active during the day, the owl is active during the night. If these animals did share exactly the same niche one of the species would eventually die off.

15. Types of Interactions 2) Predation- when an organism kills another for food

16. Types of Interaction • Three types • 3) Symbiosis- a close relationship between two species that benefit at least one organism

17. Types of Symbiosis • Mutualism- A relationship in which both species benefit

18. Types of Symbiosis • Commensalism- a relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither helped or harmed. (Not as common because most organisms affect each other in some way)

19. Types of Symbiosis • Parasitism- a relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed. • The parasite benefits, the host is harmed. The parasite usually does not kill the organism it feeds on because if it does die, the parasite loses its source of food/shelter

20. Types of Symbiosis Moth mites almost always live in just one ear of a moth. If they lived in both ears the moths hearing would be so badly affected that it is likely quickly caught and eaten by a predator, such as a bat.