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E C O L O G I C A L R E L AT I O N S H I P S
Howdospeciesinteractwithoneanotherandshapemarineecosystems?
OVERVIEW
Studentswatchvideosanddiscussecologicalrelationshipswithafocuson
observingsymbiosis.Thentheyclassifytheecologicalrelationshipstheyobserve
asmutualism,commensalism,andparasitism.
Forthecompleteactivitywithmediaresources,visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/ecological-relationships/
DIRECTIO NS
1.Introducevocabularytermsrelatedtoecologicalinteractionsand
symbiosis.
Explainthatinthisactivitystudentswilluseaseriesofvideos,images,and
scenariostoidentifyanddiscussexamplesofecologicalandsymbiotic
relationshipsintheocean.Writethefollowingtermsontheboard:competition,
predation,symbiosis,mutualism,commensalism,andparasitism.Donotinclude
thedefinitionsyet.First,askstudentstoidentifytherootwordsandbrainstorm
whattypesofecologicalandsymbioticrelationshipsthetermsdescribe.Then,
reviewthedefinitionsoftheterms.Pointoutthatthetermsymbiosisisan
overarchingtermformutualism,commensalism,andparasitismandthatthe
ecologicalrelationshipspredationandcompetitionarenotgenerallyconsidered
tobesymbiotic.
competition—whentwoormoreorganismsrelyonthesameenvironmental
resource
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predation—behaviorofoneanimalfeedingonanother
symbiosis—thecloserelationshipoftwodissimilarorganisms
mutualism—asymbioticrelationshipwherebothorganismsbenefit
commensalism—asymbioticrelationshipwhereoneorganismbenefitsand
onedoesnotbenefitbutisunharmed
parasitism—asymbioticrelationshipwhereoneorganismbenefitsandoneis
harmed
2.BuildbackgroundaboutNationalGeographicCrittercam.
ExplaintostudentsthattheywillwatchfootagefromaNationalGeographic
projectcalledCrittercam.Crittercam’sgoalistohelpresearchersunderstand
theday-to-daylivesandecologicalrelationshipsofdifferentspecies.Scientists
fitwildanimalswithaGPStrackerandacombinationvideoandaudiorecorder
withenvironmentaldatainstrumentstomeasuresuchthingsasdepth,
temperature,andacceleration—whichallowthestudyofanimalbehavior
withoutinterferencebyhumanobservers.Askstudentstothinkaboutthe
benefitsofstudyinganimalbehaviorandecologicalinteractionswithout
interferencebyhumanobservers.
3.HavestudentsuseaCrittercamvideotoidentifyecologicalrelationships.
ShowstudentstheNationalGeographicvideo“FishThievesTakeRareSeals’
Prey”(3.5minutes),inwhichanendangeredHawaiianmonksealpreysupon
andcompetesforfishandinvertebratesontheseafloorat80meters(262feet)
deep.Ask:Whatistheecologicalrelationshipbetweenthemonksealandthe
octopus/eel/triggerfish?(predator/prey)Ask:Whatistheecologicalrelationship
betweenthemonksealandthejacks/sharks?(competition)Askstudentstoagain
thinkaboutanddiscussthebenefitsofstudyinganimalbehaviorandecological
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interactionswithoutinterferencebyhumanobservers.Elicitfromstudentsthat
Crittercamallowsresearcherstoexaminethebehaviorandinteractionsof
marinespeciesthattheynormallywouldbeunabletoobserve.
4.Havestudentsviewvideostoidentifysymbioticrelationships.
Showstudentsthethreevideosofdifferentmarinespeciesinteractions.After
eachvideo,havetheclassidentifyanddiscussthesymbioticrelationshipsthey
observed.
“CaribbeanCleaners”(2.5minutes)—mutualism
“GivingFishaBath”(5.5minutes)—parasitism
“ClownfishandSeaAnemonePartnership”(1.5minutes)—mutualism
Ask:Whattypeofsymbioticrelationshipwasnotshowninthevideos?
(commensalism)
5.UseaNationalGeographicimagetoexplorecommensalismanddiscussthe
originsofCrittercam.
Displaytheimage“lemonshark”intheresourcecarouselandhavestudents
observeitclosely.Ask:Otherthantheshark,arethereanyotherorganismsyou
see?Elicitfromstudentsthatthesharkandtheremoras,thesmallerfishbelow
theshark,haveasymbioticrelationshipcalledcommensalism,wherethe
remorasbenefitfromholdingontotheshark,butneitherspeciesisharmed.Tell
studentsthatthiscommensalrelationshipiswhyGregMarshall,marinebiologist
andfilmmaker,inventedCrittercam.In1986,asharkapproachedhimduringa
divenearBelize.Marshallnoticedaremoraclingingtoashark,andashe
watchedthesharkdisappear,itoccurredtohimthatifhecouldputacamerain
theplaceoftheremora,hecouldseetheshark'sbehaviorunfoldwithout
disturbingtheshark.ExplainthatwithCrittercam,Marshalllearnedthatremoras
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attachthemselvestopredatoryfishlikesharksfortworeasons:afreerideand
protectionduetohangingontoafearedpredator.Thesharkisnotaffectedin
theprocesssinceremoraseatonlyleftoverfoodfromtheshark.
6.Havestudentsreadstatementsandidentifytypesofecological
interactions.
GiveeachstudentacopyoftheSymbioticInteractionsworksheet.Readaloud
thedirections.Tellthemthattheyshouldbeabletoprovidereasonsfortheir
choices.Discusstheanswersasaclass.Havestudentsexplainwhythey
classifiedthedifferentscenariosasonetypeofsymbiosisandnottheothers.
Ask:Howdoecologicalrelationshipsshapethemarineecosystem?Whyisit
importanttoidentifyandunderstandtheserelationships?
InformalAssessment
Usetheprovidedanswerkeytocheckstudents'completedworksheetfor
accuracy.Askstudentstoorallyexplainwhytheylabeledeachmutualism,
commensalism,orparasitism.
ExtendingtheLearning
Havestudentsidentifyonenewmarine-relatedexampleforeachofthe
ecologicalrelationshipsdiscussedinthisactivity:predation,competition,
mutualism,commensalism,andparasitism.Discusstheexamplesasaclass.
O BJECTIVES
Subjects&Disciplines
Geography
PhysicalGeography
Science
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Earthscience
Oceanography
LearningObjectives
Studentswill:
describepossibleecologicalrelationshipsbetweenspeciesthatliveinclose
proximitytoeachother
definesymbioticrelationshipsasmutualistic,parasitic,orcommensalistic
classifysymbioticrelationships
TeachingApproach
Learning-for-use
TeachingMethods
Discussions
Hands-onlearning
Visualinstruction
SkillsSummary
Thisactivitytargetsthefollowingskills:
CriticalThinkingSkills
Analyzing
Applying
Remembering
Understanding
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GeographicSkills
AnalyzingGeographicInformation
AnsweringGeographicQuestions
NationalStandards,Principles,and
Practices
N AT I O N A L G E O G RA P H Y S TA N DA RDS
•Standard8:
ThecharacteristicsandspatialdistributionofecosystemsandbiomesonEarth's
surface
N AT I O N A L S C I E N C E E DU C AT I O N S TA N DA RDS
•(9-12)StandardC-4:
Interdependenceoforganisms
•(9-12)StandardC-5:
Matter,energy,andorganizationinlivingsystems
•(9-12)StandardC-6:
Behavioroforganisms
O C E A N LI T E RA C Y E SS E N T I A L P RI N C I P LE S A N D
F U N DA M E N TA L C O N C E P T S
•Principle5d:
Oceanbiologyprovidesmanyuniqueexamplesoflifecycles,adaptationsand
importantrelationshipsamongorganisms(suchassymbiosis,predator-prey
dynamicsandenergytransfer)thatdonotoccuronland.
•Principle5e:
Theoceanisthree-dimensional,offeringvastlivingspaceanddiversehabitats
fromthesurfacethroughthewatercolumntotheseafloor.Mostoftheliving
spaceonEarthisintheocean.
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•Principle5f:
Oceanhabitatsaredefinedbyenvironmentalfactors.Duetointeractionsof
abioticfactorssuchassalinity,temperature,oxygen,pH,light,nutrients,
pressure,substrateandcirculation,oceanlifeisnotevenlydistributed
temporallyorspatially,i.e.,itis“patchy”.Someregionsoftheoceansupport
morediverseandabundantlifethananywhereonEarth,whilemuchofthe
oceanisconsideredadesert.
•Principle5g:
Therearedeepoceanecosystemsthatareindependentofenergyfromsunlight
andphotosyntheticorganisms.Hydrothermalvents,submarinehotsprings,and
methanecoldseepsrelyonlyonchemicalenergyandchemosynthetic
organismstosupportlife.
PREPARATIO N
WhatYou’llNeed
M AT E RI A LS YO U P RO V I DE
Pencils
RE Q U I RE D T E C H N O LO G Y
InternetAccess:Required
TechSetup:1computerperclassroom,Projector,Speakers
Plug-Ins:Flash
P H Y S I C A L S PA C E
Classroom
G RO U P I N G
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Large-groupinstruction
O T H E R N O T E S
Beforestartingtheactivity,downloadandqueueupallofthevideos.
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: U N DE F I N E D
FishThievesTakeRareSeals'Prey
CaribbeanCleaners
GivingFishaBath
ClownfishandSeaAnemonePartnership
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: H A N DO U T S & W O RK S H E E T S
SymbioticInteractions
SymbioticInteractionsAnswerKey
RE S O U RC E S P RO V I DE D: I M A G E S
LemonShark
BACKGRO U ND & VO CABU L ARY
BackgroundInformation
Symbiosisisanecologicalrelationshipbetweentwospeciesthatliveinclose
proximitytoeachother.Organismsinsymbioticrelationshipshaveevolvedto
exploitauniquenichethatanotherorganismprovides.Theserelationshipsare
basedontheadvantagesthatcanbegainedbyfindingandusingapreviously
unexploitedniche.Competitionandpredationareecologicalrelationshipsbut
arenotsymbiotic.Predationdoesnotoccuroveralongperiodoftime,and
competitionisanindirectinteractionoverresources.
PriorKnowledge
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[]
RecommendedPriorActivities
CreateanImaginaryMarineEcosystem
MarineEcologyVideoScavengerHunt
Vocabulary
Term
Partof
Definition
Speech
relationshipbetweenorganismswhereoneorganism
commensalismnoun
benefitsfromtheassociationwhilenotharmingthe
other.
mutualism
noun
relationshipbetweenorganismsofdifferentspecies,in
whichbothorganismsbenefitfromtheassociation.
relationshipbetweenorganismswhereoneorganism(a
parasitism
noun
parasite)livesorfeedsontheother,usuallycausing
harm.
predator
noun
animalthathuntsotheranimalsforfood.
prey
noun
animalthatishuntedandeatenbyotheranimals.
symbiosis
noun
twoormoredistinctorganismslivingtogetherforthe
benefitofoneorboth.
ForFurtherExploration
Websites
NationalGeographicEducation:NationalTeacherLeadershipAcademy
(NTLA)
FU NDER
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©1996–2017NationalGeographicSociety.Allrightsreserved.
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