SHAPING AN ECOSYSTEM: “I

GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM

MY FRIENDS….”OBJECTIVE: Identify

Different Interactions among

species

PARTS OF AN ECOSYSTEMAn Ecosystem is made of BIOTIC and ABIOTIC partsBIOTIC components are the living parts of the ecosystem

Examples are:

• Plants

• Animals

• Fungi

• Bacteria

PARTS OF AN ECOSYSTEMAn Ecosystem is made of BIOTIC and ABIOTIC Components

ABIOTIC components are the NON-living parts of the ecosystem

Examples are:

• Water

• Air

• Temperature

• Sunlight

HABITAT The ecosystem in which an organism

lives.

NICHE Full range of physical and biological

conditions in which an organism lives and the way the organism uses those conditions.

SYMBIOSIS DEFINITIONS A Niche Includes:

Food: What it eats and how it’s obtained, where is it on the food web? What eats it?

Abiotic Conditions: Non-living things needed to survive (sun, temperature, water, salt water, fresh water, heat, protection, etc.)

Behavior: When and how it reproduces, mating rituals, hibernation, defense mechanisms, interactions with others

SYMBIOSIS DEFINITIONS How is a niche

different from a habitat?

VS

TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS Competition: When organisms

attempt to use an ecological resource at the same time in the same place.

WHAT IS THE COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE? NO TWO SPECIES CAN HAVE THE SAME NICHE AT THE SAME TIME

TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS Predation: When one organism

captures and eats another organism.

SYMBIOSIS DEFINITIONS SYMBIOSIS is the interaction between 2

different organisms living together

HOST- usually the LARGER of the 2 organismsSYMBIONT- usually the SMALLER member

MUTUALISM Is a relationship where both

species benefit For example, the the bee

feeding on the nectar helps to pollinate other flowers

COMMENSALISM Is a relationship between the host

and symbiont, where the symbiont benefits and the host is neither helped nor harmed.

The symbiont benefits by receiving transportation, housing, and/or nutrition.

For example, barnacles receive transportation from the host whale. The host whale is neither helped nor harmed by the barnacles.

PARASITISM Is a relationship where the

Symbiont lives in/on the Host The Symbiont (or Parasite)

BENEFITS The Host is HARMED For example, the tick in the

picture above is a parasite. It benefits by extracting blood from its human host. The human is harmed because

SYMBIOSIS IN NATURE Write the partner, what happens in the

relationship, and then identify the relationship asParasitism,Mutualism, orCommensalism

RHINOCEROS AND THE…

Oxpeckers eat ticks on the rhinoceros’s back.

OXPECKER

This is an example of: MUTUALISM

MARIBOU STORK AND THE…

Stork cuts up dead animals that it eats with its beak. Bees lay eggs on the carcasses that provide food for the eggs.

BEE

This is an example of: COMMENSALISM

GAZELLE AND THE…

Feed next to each other and warn each other when predators come.

OSTRICH

This is an example of: MUTUALISM

BISON AND THE…

Cowbird follows the bison and eats the insects in the grass.

COWBIRD

This is an example of: COMMENSALISM

DEER AND THE…

Live on deer and suck their blood.

TICK

This is an example of: PARASITISM

BLACK SEA BASS AND THE…

Wrasse fish eats parasites on black sea bass.

WRASSE FISH

This is an example of: MUTUALISM

SHARK AND THE…

Attaches to shark and eats scraps from the shark’s meal.

REMORA

This is an example of: COMMENSALISM

SPRUCE TREE AND THE…

Mistletoe grows on spruce trees and uses its water and nutrients.

MISTLETOE

This is an example of: PARASITISM

YUCCA MOTH AND THE…

Yucca moth pollinates yucca plant and lays its eggs on the flower.

YUCCA

This is an example of: MUTUALISM

WARBLER AND THE…

The cuckoo lays its egg in the Warbler’s nest and forces warblers to raise chick

CUCKOO

This is an example of: PARASITISM

HONEY BADGER AND THE…

. Bird shows badger where beehive is; badger breaks open hive and both eat honey

HONEYGUIDE BIRD

This is an example of: MUTUALISM

CLOWNFISH AND THE….

Clownfish feeds on animals which could harm the sea anemone, and the sea anemone gets nutrients from clown fish waste.

SEA ANENOME

This is an example of: MUTUALISM