What is symbiosis?

What are the different kinds of symbiosis?

What are some examples of symbiosis?
the act of living together
What it means:
Two organisms that live together
Temporarily or for a longer time
At least one of the organisms
benefits from the relationship
 Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism
both organisms one organism one organism
benefit benefits benefits
one organism one organism
is unaffected is harmed
 Mutualism
Organism One Organism Two
 Commensalism
Organism One Organism Two
 Parasitism
Organism One Organism Two
 Acacia Plant & Ants
The ants lay eggs on parasitism
acacia tree so they get
a nice safe place for
their eggs. The acacia
covers the infected
area with brown flesh
(called a gall.) The
plant has to use
valuable resources to
create the gall.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
This fish lives its entire adult life among
the tentacles of a bulb- tentacle sea
anemone. Anemone fish do not get stung
mutualism
by the anemone as would most other fish
so they get protection from predators.
The fish often drop food scraps which
the anemones can eat.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
This Boxer Crab carries a pair
of stinging anemones in its
claws, which it uses to defend
mutualism
itself from predators. The
anemones get to move around
which increases their food
supply.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
 Shark & Remora

The remora attaches itself

commensalism to the shark and saves
energy since it doesnt
have to swim, and it gets to
snack on the sharks kills.
The shark doesnt get
anything.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
 Emperor Shrimp & Sea Cucumber
This tiny emperor shrimp is
riding along on the back of a
sea cucumber (a long worm- commensalism
like starfish relative) while it
crawls along a sandy bottom.
The shrimp gets to travel
around under the protection of
its much larger partner, and
the sea cucumber doesn't
seem to mind.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
 Moray Eel & Cleaner Fish

This moray eel has a small fish

cleaning between its teeth. The
eel gets a clean mouth while the
cleaner fish gets a nice meal.

mutualism

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
 Cattle & Cattle Egrets

As these cattle walk

around eating grass they
stir up lots of insects. The
egrets hang around and
get a yummy meal of
insects.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?

commensalism
 Clown Fish & Anemone

This clown fish swims in

the anemone and gets
protection, since its
predators will get stung.
The anemone is
unaffected.

What symbiotic
commensalism relationship is this?
 Antelope & Ox Bird

This ox bird
hangs out on the
antelope and gets
a delicious meal
of bugs living on
the antelope. The
antelope gets rid
of parasites.

What symbiotic mutualism

relationship is this?
 Loa Loa Worm & Human
This worm infects
human the blood
stream and gets a
nice warm safe
home there. The
human may go
blind or have other
complications as a
result.

What symbiotic parasitism

relationship is this?
 This alpheid shrimp (on
the right) uses its strong
claws like a bulldozer to
create a burrow in the
sand. The shrimp is nearly
blind. It relies upon its
partner, the sharp-eyed
goby, to warn of danger.
When a potential predator
approaches, both animals
disappear quickly into the mutualism
burrow
What symbiotic
relationship is this?
 Can you see the two
cleaner wrasses are
removing parasites from
a batfish? One of the
wrasses has entered the
gill slit of the batfish, and
may even enter its
mouth in search of food.
The batfish gets a bath
and the wrasse gets a
meal.

What symbiotic
relationship is this? mutualism
 mutualism

This hummingbird moth is

drinking the nectar of a
flower. The flower gets
pollinated (the moth brings
pollen from other flowers)
and the moth gets a tasty
meal.

What symbiotic
relationship is this?
 Answer each of following questions on a sheet of lined paper.

1. What is symbiosis?
2. What are the different kinds of symbiosis?
3. Describe one example of each kind of symbiotic relationship.