How Living things interact

1
How Living things interact
2
Adapting to the Environment

• All organisms within ecosystems have a special
  set of characteristics that affect their ability
  to survive in their environment

3
Natural Selection

• Natural Selection- A characteristic that makes an
  individual better suited to its environment.
  Eventually this trait may become common in that
  species because it is passed from parent to
  offspring.

4
Survival of the Fittest

• Ever heard of this? Organisms with unique
  characteristics are better suited to survive in
  their environment. They tend to survive. They
  then pass these good traits on to their
  offspring.

5
Adaptations

• A result of natural selection
• Adaptations- the behaviors and physical
  characteristics that allow organisms to live
  successfully in their environments.
• If they do not well suited to survive in their
  environment they will not reproduce as much.
  What will happen to them?

6
What is a Niche?

• Each organism has a role in an ecosystem based on
  its adaptations to its environment. Each
  organisms role in its habitat is called its
  niche. This involves the type of food they eat,
  how it obtains food, and others that prey on
  this organism. A niche is also the physical
  conditions and how the organism reproduces.

7
Predator Adaptations

• An adaptation that helps them catch their prey.
  For example a horse shoe bat sends out sound
  waves and located its prey by listening for the
  echo.

8
Prey Adaptations

• Organisms avoid being eaten by their predators by
  using certain adaptations

9
Preys Defense Strategies

• Mimicry- disguising their appearance as a
  threatening organism.
• An example is this caterpillar. Its rear end
  looks like a snake!!

10
(No Transcript)
11
Prey Adaptations

• Another defense strategy is camouflage
• Camouflage- when an organisms appearance blends
  in with its typical surroundings

12
Another Defense Strategy

• Warning color- bright colored animals warn their
  predators that they are poisonous, or just wont
  taste good!

13
Types of Interactions

• Three types1) Competition- the struggle between
  organisms to survive as they attempt to use the
  same limited resource . If an animal has a
  unique adaptation that reduces competition
  between organisms.

14
The elf owl and the roadrunner both live in the
sanguaro desert and they both eat insects. They
compete for food, but do not occupy exactly the
same niche. While the roadrunner is mostly
active during the day, the owl is active during
the night. If these animals did share exactly
the same niche one of the species would
eventually die off.
15
Types of Interactions

• 2) Predation- when an organism kills another for
  food

16
Types of Interaction

• Three types
• 3) Symbiosis- a close relationship between two
  species that benefit at least one organism

17
Types of Symbiosis

• Mutualism- A relationship in which both species
  benefit

18
Types of Symbiosis

• Commensalism- a relationship in which one species
  benefits and the other species is neither helped
  or harmed. (Not as common because most organisms
  affect each other in some way)

19
Types of Symbiosis

• Parasitism- a relationship where one organism
  benefits and the other is harmed.
• The parasite benefits, the host is harmed. The
  parasite usually does not kill the organism it
  feeds on because if it does die, the parasite
  loses its source of food/shelter

20
Types of Symbiosis
Moth mites almost always live in just one ear of
a moth. If they lived in both ears the moths
hearing would be so badly affected that it is
likely quickly caught and eaten by a predator,
such as a bat.
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)