Download Interactions Among Living Things Listening Bingo

Interactions Among
Organisms
What is Ecology?

Ecology is the study of organisms and the living
and non-living parts of their environment.

There are many levels of organization in ecology.
Levels include:


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Biosphere – all the area on the surface of earth and in the
atmosphere that supports life
Biome – large area characterized by climate and particular
plants and animals
Ecosystem – a group of organisms living together and the
environment around them
Community – all of the interacting populations in an area
Population – all of the organisms of the same species
living in an area
Organism – A single living thing
Abiotic vs. Biotic Factors

Abiotic Factors are
all of the non-living
components of the
ecosystem.

Examples would be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Water
Sunlight
Oxygen
Temperature
Soil

Biotic Factors are all
of the living
components of the
ecosystem.

Examples would be:
1.
2.
3.
Plants
Insects
Larger animals
Which level is it?


Identify the level of
ecological
organization
represented by each
picture.
A herd of buffalo.
Which level is it?

All of the living and
non-living parts of a
pond
Which level is it?

African savannah
Habitat

The habitat is the place
where an organism lives.

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An environment that
provides the things the
organism needs to live,
grow, and reproduce is
called its habitat.
Several species can live in
the same habitat but will
use the resources in
different ways.
Niche

A niche is the role of an
organism in its habitat or
how it makes its living.


A niche includes the type of
food the organism eats,
how it obtains this food,
and which other organisms
use the organism as food.
A niche also includes when
and how the organism
reproduces and the
physical conditions that it
requires to survive.
http://www.tycho.dk/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/1150-250x250.jpg
Ecological Relationships

Ecological Relationships can be classified
as: competition, predation, or
symbiosis.
Competition


Competition is the struggle between
organisms to survive as they attempt to
use the same limited resource.
Organisms compete for: food, water, and
living space.
Predation

In predation, one
organism, the
predator, kills and
eats another, the
prey.

The relationship of
predator and prey is
essential to keeping
populations of both
animals at normal
levels.
Defense Strategies

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Mimicry: look like something else to trick
would-be predators
Protective covering: hard outer shell
False coloring: like “false eyespots” to
trick would-be predators
Warning coloring: tell predators not to eat
it
Camouflage: blend in with surroundings
Symbiosis is a close
relationship between two
species that benefits at least
one of the species.

There are three types of
symbiosis:
1.
2.
3.
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism
Mutualism

In mutualism, both
organisms benefit from
one another.

For example: A clownfish
and a sea anemone have a
mutualistic relationship.
The fish is protected by the
anemone and the anemone
receives scraps of food
from the clownfish.
Commensalism


In commensalism, one organism
benefits from the other. The other
organism is neither helped nor harmed.
This is usually a relationship between a
small organism and a larger organism
where the smaller organism benefits.

The benefit is usually shelter, transportation,
defense, or food.
Commensalism

An example is the
relationship of the
remora and the shark.
The remora receives
food in the form of
scraps that come
from the shark, but
the shark is
unaffected.
Parasitism

In parasitism, one
organism benefits and
the other is harmed.


The organism that
benefits is called the
parasite.
The organism that is
harmed is called the
host.
Parasitism

Tapeworms and liver
flukes are examples
of parasites that live
in the bodies of other
organisms
(endoparasites).
They feed off the host
and cause disease.
Summary of Symbiotic
Relationships
Relationship
Organism 1
Organism 2
Mutualism


Commensalism
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
Parasitism


Which relationship is it?

An American robin
builds a nest in a red
maple tree
Which relationship is it?

A tick makes its home
on a white-tailed deer
Which relationship is it?

A Nile crocodile will
open its mouth and
allow the Egyptian
plover to feed on any
leeches that are
attached to its gums
Which relationship is it?

A red fox hunts and
consumes a black rat
snake
Which relationship is it?

A certain type of
paramecium engulfs
unicellular green algae
into vacuoles within its
cell. The algae are
allowed to utilize carbon
dioxide produced by the
paramecium and the
paramecium is able to
utilize food produced by
the algae.