Download File - Ms. Alger

COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS
HABITATS, NICHES, AND SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS
HABITAT AND NICHE
a. All organisms has to live somewhere. Where they
originate from is called Native Habitat.
b. Habitat: is location where an organism lives, uses
resources, reproduces, and dies.
i.
It’s like a home address.
c. If habitat is an organism’s address, then
Niche is its job or profession.
d. Niche: a role that each species have
within a community (an organism’s job)
i.
Some are producers (food and shelter)
ii. Some are food for others (rabbits)
iii. Some are population control (predator
and diseases)
iv. Some are decomposers (cleaners)
e. All organisms have a role or niche.
An unglamorous and unwanted niche of the
beloved vulture…is it important?
SYMBIOSES
a. Nothing in nature “lives” alone; all have
niches.
i. Organisms always effect one-another =
relationship.
b. Symbioses: close relationship between
different species.
i. Example: flower and bees, clownfish and
anemone, mosquitoes and human, lions
and zebras.
c. There are five types of symbioses
(relationship)
i. Predation
ii. Parasitism
iii. Competition
iv. Mutualism
v. Commensalism
PREDATION
a. Predation: a relationship where one species
eats another. (+/-)
i. Animal eats animal (orcas and seals)
ii. Animal eats plant (deer and wildflowers)
iii. Plant eats animals (orchid and fly trap)
b. The two species involved are predator and
prey.
i. Predator: the species eating another species.
(+)
1. Predators rely on: speed, strength,
advance senses (sight, smell, hearing),
stalking, poison, sharp body parts
(claws, teeth, beaks), traps.
ii. Prey: the species being consumed by the
predator. (-)
1. Rely on: speed, agility, camouflage,
poison, playing dead, armor, digging,
flight, schooling. False warning, thorns
iii. The most used defense is mimicry: animals
color/appearance disguised as something else
(camouflage).
1. Blends in with surrounding.
2. Pretends to look like something dangerous or
poisonous.
PARASITISM
a. Parasitism: a relationship where one species uses
another for nutrient; but does not kill. (+/-)
b. Parasite: the species consuming the host.
c. Host: the species providing nutrients for the
parasite.
i. Some parasites live on/in their host (worms,
bacteria, fungus, chiggers, lice, crabs, fleas)
ii. Parasites living off host: mosquitoes, mites,
leeches.
COMPETITION
a. Competition: a relationship where two
species need the same resource. (-/-)
i. Food, water, living space, sunlight,
nesting location,
b. Competition will result in less resource
for both species.
MUTUALISM
a. Mutualism: a relationship where both
species rely and benefit from each other
(+/+)
b. Sometimes relationship is so specialized
that they cannot live without each other
(termites and bacteria)
c. Help each other feed, reproduce, escape
predator, cleaning, protection.
COMMENSALISM
a. Commensalism: a relationship where one
species benefit while having no effect on the
other. (+/0)
b. Species nor helped nor harmed.
c. Example:
i. Whales and barnacles
ii. Human and skin bacteria,
iii. Buffalo and egret