Types of Interactions

Ecology: A study of the relationship between living things and the environment.

Individual: Organism with unique DNA and cells.

POPULATION: Groups individuals who tend to mate with each other in a limited geographic area.

Community: The relationships between groups of populations.

Biome: A regional ecosystem characterized by distinct types of vegetation and animals. Determined by temperature and rainfall.

Biosphere: The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist.

The surface of the earth and all the ecosystems.

Lithosphere: Below the surface, in the crust and mantle.

Hydrosphere: All waters not in atmosphere and lithosphere.

Ecosystem: The relationships of populations with each other and their environment.

Habitat: The type of environment in which an organism lives.

Limiting Factors & Carrying Capacity

Population grow is controlled by limiting factors these are scarce resources

Ex: food, water, and living space Any resource can become a limiting

factor to a population (i.e. too many animals = too little food)

•Nature is varied- everything in the environment affects every other thing.

Limiting factors cause death in populations when they’ve get bigger than their carrying capacity -the largest number the environment can support.

SunlightWaterTemperatureDiseaseParasitesPredatorsCompetition

Limiting Factors: A factor that causes a population to decrease in size.

Density Independent

Factors(Non-living /

Abiotic)Density

Dependent Factors (Other living

things)

Interactions Between Organisms

Populations are contained to one species while communities are interactions between multiple species.

All these species within a community are going to interact in some way. These are the main ways species and individuals can affect each other.COMPETITION PREDATOR and PREYS YMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Competition

When 2 or more individuals or populations try to use the same resources(EX: food, water, shelter, space, sunlight)

Resources are limited, so when one animal uses them, others can’t.

Competition can happen between animals within a population and between different populations.(EX: Elk compete for same plants to eat; different plant species in a forest all want the same sunlight)

Living things All living things (organisms) need food

(nourishment) to live. Living things in an ecosystem depend on

each other for food.

Producers

Plants are living organisms. They need nourishment to survive.

But… Plants do not eat other plants or

animals. Plants are called producers, because

they make their own food inside themselves.

Consumers

“Consume” means “eat”. Animals are consumers because they

“eat” (consume) food provided by plants or other animals.

Herbivores

Some animals do not eat other animals. They survive on plants and are known as

“herbivores”.

Carnivores

Some animals, like the kingfisher, eat only other animals. These animals are

called “carnivores”.

Omnivores

Some animals, like us, eat both plants and animals.

These animals are called “omnivores”.

Predators & Prey

Interaction where one organism eats another: prey is organism eaten; predator is the organism doing the eating

Predators adapt in order to catch prey(EX: cheetahs run fast; goldenrod spider blend in with flower)

Prey adapt in order to avoid predator– Defensive chemicals can make the prey unattractive

or even poison (deadly)– Will have warning colors that say “stay away”,

such as red, yellow, orange– Outrun the predator or travel in groups

(schools of fish, herds of buffaloes)– Blend in with background by either sitting still or

mimickingsomething non-living- this is known as camouflage

Predator

A predator eats other animals.

Cats eat fish. So do bears!

Predator

The cat is a predator, because it eats other animals.

The bear is a predator, because it eats other animals.

People are predators too!

Prey

Any animal which is hunted and killed by another animal for food is prey.

Predator

Prey

Symbiosis A long term relationship between two or more different species

Parasitism: One organism benefits while the other is harmed.

Mutualism: Both organisms benefit.

Copyright © 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

Examples of mutualisms

Commensalism: One organism benefits while the other doesn’t benefit, or suffer harm.

The remora just hitches a ride to grab some scraps after the kill.

Examples of Commensalism