Download GL2011-Combo Good buddies Symbiosis and Ecological

Ecological
Relationships
&
Symbiosis
Alabama Biology Objective
Part 1 of objective #16
16. Identify density-dependent and densityindependent limiting factors that affect
populations in an Ecosystem
1.
2.
Density-dependent—disease, predator-prey
relationships, availability of food and water
Density-independent—natural disasters, climate, innate
behaviors (migration), human impact
Part 2 of Objective #16
Symbiotic Relationships: Discriminating among
symbiotic relationships, including mutualism,
commensalism, and parasitism
Symbiosis
A close relationship between two
species where at least one of the
organisms receives some kind of
benefit (ex. food, shelter)
 There are three types of Symbiosis:
 Mutualism
 Parasitism
 Commensalism

Mutualism



Both organisms benefit, each species
providing something needed by the other
species.
Termites have protozoans that live in their
gut and digest wood cellulose
Flowering plants and pollinating insects

Plants provide food; insects cross-pollinate
Parasitism




One Benefits, the other is HARMED
Parasite relies on host for food
Host is harmed, but usually not killed
Endoparasites: live within host


viruses, microbes
Ectoparasites: live outside of host

insects, mites, ticks
Commensalism

One organism benefits, the other
organism neither harmed nor
benefited. (could care less.)
Whale & Barnacles
Whale and Barnacles



Barnacles attach to whale and receives a
home
Whale is not benefited nor harmed
Which kind of symbiosis is this?
Whale & Barnacles
Commensalism
Lamprey and fish
Lamprey and fish



The lamprey, a jawless fish, attaches to
other fish and feeds on their blood and
tissues
Fish does not die, but may be weakened
Which symbiotic relationship is this?
Lamprey & Fish
Parasitism
Cleaner shrimp and fish
Cleaner shrimp and fish



Cleaner shrimp removes parasites from
fish, then eats the parasites
Fish now has fewer parasites that could
cause it harm
Which symbiotic relationship is this?
Cleaner Shrimp & Fish
Mutualism
Deer and Ticks
White-tailed deer and tick




Ticks live in tall grasses and attach to the
bodies of passing deer and other animals
Tick requires blood meals from the deer to
reproduce
Deer can be weakened from the tick
feeding on it
What form of symbiosis is this?
Deer and Ticks
Parasitism
Lyme disease and deer ticks


Lyme disease occurs
when ticks infected
with a certain bacteria
bite humans
Symptoms include
include fever,
headache, fatigue,
depression, and a
characteristic skin
rash
Remora & Shark
Shark and Remora fish



Remora attaches to shark’s body and
travels with shark feeding on food scraps
from the shark’s meals
Shark not benefited nor harmed
What kind of symbiosis would this be?
Shark & Remora Fish
Commensalism
Acacia Tree and Ants
Acacia tree and Ants



The ants live and feed in special nodes of
the acacia tree
The ants protect the tree by swarming and
attacking humans and other animals that
might try to eat from the tree
What is the relationship here?
Acacia Tree and Ants
Mutualism
Yucca Plant & Yucca Moth
 Yucca
flowers are pollinated by Yucca
moths. The moths lay their eggs in the
flowers where the larvae hatch and eat
some of the developing seeds.
 Both benefit from living together.
Yucca Plant & Yucca Moth
Mutualism
Oxpecker & Rhinocerous
The Fable of the Rhino and the Oxpecker
http://barryjnorthern.blogspot.com/2010/01/fable-of-rhino-and-oxpecker.html
 Oxpeckers
feed on the ticks found on
a rhinoceros.
 Both species benefit.
Oxpecker & Rhinocerous
Mutualism
Honey Badger & Honey Guide Bird
 Honey
guide birds alert & direct
badgers to bee hives. The badgers
then expose the hives & feed on
the honey first. Then the honey
guide birds eat.
 Both species benefit.
Honey Badger & Honey Guide Bird
Mutualism
Gazelle & Ostrich


Ostriches & gazelles feed next to
each other. They both watch for
predators & alert each other to
danger. Since the visual abilities of
the 2 species are different, they can
identify threats the other animal
would not as readily see.
Both species benefit.
Black Sea Bass & Wrasse Fish
Mutualism
 Wrasse
fish feed on the parasites
found on the black sea basses
body. Both species benefit.

Wrasse Fish
Black Sea Bass &
odd looking Homo sapien

Commensalism
Black Sea Bass & Wrasse Fish
Cuckoo Bird & Warbler Bird
A
cuckoo may lay its eggs in a
Warbler’s nest. The cuckoo’s
young will displace the warbler’s
young and will be raised by the
warbler.
Cuckoo Bird & Warbler Bird
Parasitism
Parasitism -Warbler raising cuckoos
Mistletoe & Spruce Tree
 Mistletoe
extracts water and nutrients
from the spruce tree to the tree’s
detriment.
Mistletoe & Spruce tree
Parasitism
Kissing under the Mistletoe


According to a custom of Christmas cheer, any two people who meet under a
hanging of mistletoe are obliged to kiss. The custom is of Scandinavian
origin.
In Norse mythology, Baldr was a god of vegetation.
 His mother, Frigga, dreamt that the mischievous god Loki and a blind
god Höðr, would run a spear through her son. To prevent this, she made
every plant, animal, and inanimate object promise not to harm her son
Baldr.
 The story goes that Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant, so Loki was
able to trick the blind god into killing her son Baldr, with a spear
fashioned from mistletoe.
 Baldr's death brought winter into the world, until the gods restored him
to life.
 Then Frigga declared the mistletoe sacred, ordering that from now on it
should bring love rather than death into the world.
 Happily complying with Frigga's wishes, any two people passing under
the plant from now on would celebrate Baldr's resurrection by kissing
under the mistletoe.
Benefits and Ecological Importance
of Mistletoe



A broad array of animals depend on mistletoe for food,
consuming the leaves and young shoots, transferring
pollen between plants, and dispersing the sticky seeds.
The sticky juice of mistletoe berries was used as
adhesive to trap small animals or birds.
A study of mistletoe in junipers concluded that more
juniper berries sprout in stands where mistletoe is
present, as the mistletoe attracts berry-eating birds
which also eat juniper berries.
Mouse & Fleas
 Parasitism
A
flea feeds on the mouse’s blood to
the mouse’s detriment.
Silverfish & Army Ants
Commensalism

Silver fish live with and hunt with army
ants. They share the prey. They neither
help nor harm the ants.
Marabou Stork and Bee
Commensalism
 The
stork uses it saw-like bill to cut
up the dead animals it eats. As a
result, the dead animal carcass is
accessible to some bees for food
and for egg laying.
Buffalo (herbivores) & Cowbird
Commensalism
 As
buffalos walk through grass, insects
become active and are seen and eaten
by cowbirds. This neither harms nor
benefits the buffalos.
Buffalo (herbivores) & Cowbird
Snail Shell & Hermit Crab
 Hermit
crabs live in shells made &
then abandoned by snails. This neither
harms or benefits the snails.
Snail Shell & Hermit Crab
Commensalism
Whale & Barnacles
Marabou Stork and Bee
Acacia Tree and Ants
Lamprey and fish
Cleaner shrimp and fish
Acacia Tree and Ants
Mutualism
Gazelle & Ostrich
Mistletoe & Spruce Tree
Cuckoo Bird & Warbler Bird