Species Interaction

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Species Interaction
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Questions for Today

• What are the five ways species interact with each
  other?
• How does competition effect species interactions?
• Describe Predator-Prey Relationships and how
  those relationships creates a coevolution event?
• What are three types of symbioses found in nature?

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Species Interact in Five Ways

• There are five basic types of species
  interactions
• Interspecific Competition
• Predation
• Parasitism
• Mutualism
• Commensalism
• These interactions help influence survival
  techniques which make them agents of Natural
  Selection.

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Competition

• The most common interaction between species is
  competition.
• One species will eventually become more efficient
  in acquiring resources and food.
• When two species compete for food in the same
  niche, their niches overlap
• Remember only one species can occupy a niche at a
  time.
• Competitive exclusion principle.
• What are the possible responses to niche overlap?

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Predation

• All organisms need food to survive
• Plants make their own
• All other must eat
• Predation is the interaction between a feeder
  (predator) and what it eats (prey).
• Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores are all
  predators.

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Predators

• Predator have two primary ways of capturing prey.
• Pursuit and ambush
• Most predator have developed adaptations in
  either of these two areas.
• Cheetahs - speed
• Snowy Owl camouflage
• Some predators use chemical warfare to paralyze
  its enemy.

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Prey

• In answer to the Predator, many prey species have
  developed ways to defend themselves.
• Physical barriers and strengths
• Spines, shells, thick bark
• Faster escape and strong senses
• Camouflage
• Cuttlefish
• Chemical Warfare
• Poisonous to eat or create poison that they
  excrete when aggravated.
• Taste Bad

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Prey

• Good rule of thumb
• If it is small and strikingly beautiful, its
  poisonous
• If it is strikingly beautiful and easy to catch,
  its DEADLY
• Other prey species use behavioral strategies to
  evade predators.
• Mimicry

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(a) Span worm
(b) Wandering leaf insect
(c) Bombardier beetle
(d) Foul-tasting monarch butterfly
(f) Viceroy butterfly mimics monarch butterfly
(e) Poison dart frog
(g) Hind wings of Io moth resemble eyes of a
much larger animal.
(h) When touched, snake caterpillar changes shape
to look like head of snake.
Fig. 5-2, p. 103
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Benefit of Predator-Prey Relationships

• Predation plays a major role in Natural Selection
• Predators weed out the weak, sick, and dying
  species.
• Increases biodiversity
• Help keep grazing animals down and preserve the
  balance of an ecosystem.

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Coevolution and Pred. v. Prey Relationships

• Coevolution is when two organisms evolve due to
  pressures exerted from each other.
• Its like an evolutionary arms race
• Constant struggle for survival create harder prey
  to catch and stronger predators to catch them.

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Symbiosis

• Symbiosis are when two species live together in
  some form.
• Three Types of Sybiosis
• Parasitism
• Commensalism
• Mutualism

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Parasitism

• Parasitism occurs when one species (the parasite)
  feeds on the body of, or the energy used by,
  another organism (the host), usually by living on
  or in the host.
• Common Characteristics of Parasites
• Smaller than the host
• Rarely Kill the Host
• Live directly on or in the Host

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Parasitism Tree with Parasitic Mistletoe, Trout
with Blood-Sucking Sea Lampreys
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Commensalism

• Commensalism is when two species interact where
  one species benefits and the other is not harmed
  or benefits lightly.

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Commensalism Bromiliad Roots on Tree Trunk
Without Harming Tree
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Mutualism

• An Interaction where two species benefit from
  living together.
• Nutrition
• Protection
• Hygiene
• Health

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Mutualism Oxpeckers Clean Rhinoceros Anemones
Protect and Feed Clownfish
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Video Otter feeding