Environmental Interdependence

Coexisting in an ecosystem

Plant-Herbivore Interaction

• A relationship between plants and the animals that eat them

• Ex. A cow eating grass

• Ex. A deer eating leaves from a tree

Plant-Herbivore Interaction

Predator- Prey

• Predator- members of a species that capture and eat members of another species

2 types of predators1. Carnivores2. Omnivores • Prey- the members of the species that are

captured and eaten • Ex. A hawk hunting and consuming a rabbit• Ex. Lions hunting and consuming a zebra

Predator- Prey

Competition • A relationship in which organisms use the same resources

at the same time in the same place so they must compete with each other for the use of the resources

Competitive Exclusion • The extinction of one species in an area due to competition

with another species

• Ex. Two male alligators compete for territory and for females. One male will be more dominant than the other and better able to survive.

• Ex. Two different species of birds compete with each other for the same nesting space, food source, and water supply. One of the species will be more successful that the other species and the other species will fail .

Competition

Cooperation

• A relationship within certain populations to work together for a common goal

• Ex. Social insects, such as honeybees, termites, and ants (they form colonies and divide the labor)

• Ex. Wolves form a pack( they work together to hunt and kill prey and rear their young)

Cooperation

Symbiosis Living together

Symbiosis

• Relationships in which two organisms of different species live together very closely

3 types 1. Mutualism 2. Commensalism 3. Parasitism

Mutualism

• Two different species both benefits from their relationship with each other

• Ex. Flowering plants and pollinators (the flowers provide the insects with nectar and pollen. In turn, the insect go from flower to flower and help pollinate the plants)

Mutualism

Commensalism

• Relationship in which one species benefits and the other species in neither helped nor harmed

• Ex. Barnacles and whales (The barnacles benefit by attaching to the whale and as the whale moves the barnacles can filter feed. The whale is unaffected)

Commensalism

Parasitism • Relationship in which one organism

benefits at the expense of the other organism

• Parasite- live in or on another organism • Host- the organism that is being

weakened by the parasite • Ex. Roundworms and dogs

(dogs=host, roundworm=parasite)

Parasitism

Group Activity

What’s the Relationship?

Each person in the group needs one (1) sheet of paper and something to write with.

Number your paper from1-25.

Each group will have 12 minutes to read an example of a relationship and identify the type of relationship.

• Predator/Prey

• Cooperation

• Competition

• Plant/Herbivore

• Commensalism

• Parasitism

• Mutualism

#1

• What’s the relationship? A wasp lays its eggs on a caterpillar. When the wasp eggs hatch, the larva will eat the caterpillar and kill it.

#2

• What’s the relationship? Barnacles create home sites by attaching themselves to whales.

#3

• What’s the relationship? Heartworms develop inside a dog’s heart. The worms cause health problems and may result in death.

#4

• What’s the relationship? Ostriches and gazelles feed next to each other. They both watch for predators and alert each other to danger. Because the visual abilities of the two species are different, they can identify threats that the other animal would not see as readily.

#5

• What’s the relationship? A flea feeds on a mouse’s blood and harms the mouse.

#6

• What’s the relationship? Cow eating grass

#7

• What’s the relationship? 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.

#8

• What’s the relationship? Dolphins work together to herd herring into a bait ball. The dolphins then take turns eating from the ball.

#9

• What’s the relationship? A cuckoo may lay its eggs in a warbler’s nest. The cuckoo’s young will knock the warbler’s eggs out of a nest and the warbler will raise the cuckoo’s young.

#10

• What’s the relationship? Hermit crabs live in shells made and then abandoned by snails.

#11

• What’s the relationship? A giraffe eating leaves on a tree

#12

• What’s the relationship? E. Coli is a bacteria that lives in the gut of humans. The human provides the ideal habitat for e coli reproduction and the e coli provides the extra vitamin K that we use.

#13

• What’s the relationship? A lion stalks, kill, and eats an antelope

#14

• What’s the relationship? Mistletoe extracts water and nutrients from a spruce tree. The spruce tree is harmed.

#15

• What’s the relationship? Termites live in colonies. A king and queen produce young. Workers gather food.

#16

• What’s the relationship? Zebra mussels and MS River mussels eat the same types of food and live in the same habitat. When zebra mussels are introduced to the habitat, MS river mussels decline.

#17

• What’s the relationship? Sparrow will build its nest under the nest of an osprey. The smaller birds get protection because other predators will not mess with the osprey.

#18

• What’s the relationship? an eagle captures and eats a fish from a local pond.

#19

• What’s the relationship? A wasp lays its eggs on a caterpillar. When the wasp eggs hatch, the larva will eat the caterpillar and kill it.

#20

• What’s the relationship? an oak tree grows beside a pine tree. Eventually, the oak tree overshadows the pine tree, and the pine tree dies.

#21

• What’s the relationship? Oxpeckers feed on the ticks found on a rhinoceros. The oxpeckers get a meal and the rhinoceros is helped by the removal of the ticks.

#22

• What’s the relationship? Honey guide birds alert and direct badgers to bee hives. The badgers then expose the hives and feed on the honey first. Next the honey guide birds eat.

#23

• What’s the relationship? As bison walk through grass, insects become active and are seen and eaten by cowbirds.

#24

• What’s the relationship? Two male lions fighting over territory.

#25

• What’s the relationship? A caterpillar eating a maple leaf