Download Ecosystem Interactions

Ecosystem Interactions
Interactions
• The organisms in a community are capable of
interacting with each other in some very
complex ways.
– They can:
• Hurt Each other
• Help each other
• Live indifferently
Competition
• Competition occurs when 2 or more
organisms (same or different species) attempt
to us the same resource at the same time and
place.
• Resource: any necessity of life
– Ex. Water, nutrients, light, food, space, etc…
• Two types:
– Intraspecific: members of the same species
compete for a resource
– Interspecific: members of different species
compete
Intraspecific Competition
Interspecific
Competition
Predation
• An interaction in
which one organism
captures and feeds
on another
• Predator- organism
that does the killing
and eating
• Prey- organism that
is the food
• This relationship can
have a drastic effect
on the community
(more on this later)
Symbiosis
• The relationship in which there is a close and
permanent association between organisms of
different species
• Three kinds of symbiosis are:
– Mutualism
– Commensalism
– parasitism.
Symbiosis
mutualism
commensalism
+/0
predation
+/-
+/+
-/
mutualism
• Relationship in which
both species benefit
from the interaction
e.g., intestinal bacteria,
lichens, pollinators
commensalism
• Relationship in which
two organisms live
together …one benefits
and the other is
unaffected
e.g., barnacles on whales,
orchids
parasitism
• a member of one species
derives benefit at the
expense of another
species: usually harm but
don’t kill host
• Parasite- organim that
obtains benefit
• Host- organism that the
parasite feeds from
– e.g., ticks, mistletoe,
disease-causing bacteria