INTERACTIONS AND ADAPTATIONS

Competition

Two major types of interactions between organisms include competition and predation

Competition: the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resourceIf two organisms occupy the same niche, one will

eventually die offOrganisms that survive have adaptations that allow

them to reduce competition

Video: Animal Defenses

Predation

• Predation: an interaction in which one organism kills another for food

• Predator: the organism that does the killing

• Prey: the organism that is killed • Ex. Tiger shark and albatross, snake and mouse

Video: Shark and turtle

Adapting to the Environment Natural Selection: a process by which

individuals that are adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than others of the same speciesoffspring also live and reproduce

http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/naturalselection/

Adapting to the Environment Adaptations: the behaviors and

physical characteristics that allow organisms to live successfully in their environmentsovertime poorly suited characteristics may

disappear from the species, favorable characteristics will be passed down from generation to generation.

Predator/Prey Adaptations Predator Adaptations: adaptations that

help predators catch and kill their prey

Prey Adaptations: adaptations that help organisms avoid becoming prey

Defense Strategies include:mimicry, false coloring, protective

covering, and warning coloring, chemicals

(adaptation game)

Niche

Every organism has a variety of adaptations that are suited to its specific living conditions.

Niche: the role of an organism in its habitat, or how it makes its livingIncludes type of food it eats, how it gets its

food, who uses it as food, when and how it reproduces, and any physical conditions it needs to survive

Symbiosis

A close relationship between two species that benefits as least one of the species

http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/symbiosis/

Mutualism

Both species benefit from the relationship

They are so dependent on each other that they could not live with out each other.

Video: Ancient Farmers of the Amazon

Commensalism

When one species in the relationship benefits and the other does not get helped or harmed by the relationship

Elf Owl lives in a cactus

Parasitism One organism living

on or inside another organism and is harming it. Parasite: the organism

that benefitsHost: the organism it

lives in or onThe parasite is usually

smaller than the host

Video: Unlikely Travel Companions

Coyotes and Jackrabbits

You will get 3 different sizes of paperBlue= coyoteBrown= rabbitsRed= habitat

You start out with 5 rabbits equally spaced, and dropping the coyote once.

Fill in the table as you go. Stop playing after 22 population cycles