Biotic Relationships

All organisms fit into a:

Habitat - the physical area in which an
organism lives.
Niche - the way of life of an organism.
Population a group of individuals of the
same species living in the same area

Biotic Relationships
Interactions among living organisms
All organisms engage in competition. They
compete with each other for the resources
needed to survive

Intraspecies competition - between organisms

of the same species

Members of the same species will compete

for:
Mates
Nesting sites
Feeding locations
Food
Water, etc

 Humans have intraspecies competion.

Make a list of the resources that humans
compete for?

Interspecies competition - between organisms

of different species.
Members of DIFFERENT species will compete for:
Feeding spots,
Food
Water
Nesting sites, etc.
For example, owls and fox both compete for
mice (or food)

 Compare and contrast intraspecies (2 of the

same species) and interspecies (2 different
species) competition.

Eat and Be Eaten

Predation - refers to the relationship
between a predator and its prey
Predator and prey are tied together in
many ways. What happens to one will
impact the other

Changing Fortunes of Wolf And Moose

Moose and wolf population fluctuations on Isle Royale depend on factors
like weather, disease and possibly genetic problems.
Scientists are trying to sort out reasons for the current wolf resurgence.

If the predator population is low, the numbers of

the prey species will increase.
As the numbers of the predator species increase,
the prey population begins to decrease.
Most predator species will reproduce in larger
numbers if food is abundant.

Predator prey relationships

Herbivores (plant eaters) depend on plants to

survive. Explain why carnivores (meat
eaters) depend on plants as well.

Native vs Non-Natives
Native species: one that has evolved within or migrated to an ecosystem
WITHOUT humans having put it there

Nonnative species: one that humans have

introduced into an ecosystem
Humans introduce nonnative plants to:
Provide food for livestock
Decorate their gardens
Reduce rates of soil erosion
Kill pests

Invasive species: nonnative species that can

out-compete a native species in an ecosystem
Some nonnative species can radically change
an ecosystem in a short period of time.
Invasive species will out-compete native
species in the ecosystem and drastically
change the relationships and habitats of other
species within the ecosystem.

The Desert Tamarix

was introduced to

America as an
ornamental species.
Large plants of
Tamarix can transpire
at least 200 gallons
per plant each day and
will often dry up ponds
and streams
.

Russian Knappweed
Brought to America in
1898
Each plant can
produce up to
1200 seeds.
Spread though
root system of the
plant.
Plant develops

Giant African Snail

1st imported as pets

Can damage native
plants and crops

Cactus Moth
Accidentally imported
in cargo from the
Caribbean
Feeds on prickly pair
cactus to the degree
that it kills the plant
Spreading across the
US

Africanized Honeybee: The KILLER Bee!!

Means of introduction:
imported and bred with
European honey bees to
increase honey
production
Impact: more aggressive
than European
honeybees; Negative
impact on honey
production industry

Symbiosis
Symbiosis = "intimate living together"
between different species
Several possible types, ranging from harm
to mutual benefit.
Not clearly separated in nature;
relationship may change from beneficial to
harmful as environment changes

Commensalism
One organism benefits, and the other organism
(host) is not obviously affected either
positively or negatively; fairly rare in nature

The anemonefish lives

among the forest of tentacles
of an anemone and is
protected from potential
predators not immune to the
sting of the anemone.

Commensalism in the desert

A fringe-toed lizard
living in an
abandoned rat hole,
the lizard benefits
from shelter, while
the rat has moved
on.

Mutualism
2 organisms living together and both benefit from the
association

Hummingbird hawkmoth
drinking from Dianthus.
Moth gets water and will
then spread pollen from
the flower so it can
reproduce

Mutualism and Plant Love

Honeybees pollinate
flowers
The bees get food
The plants are able to
make babies!

Parasitism
One organism (parasite) obtains its nutrition from
another organism (host) to the harm of the
host.
The parasite usually benefits and the host is usually
harmed

Desert Mistletoe living of of a

Paloverde tree

Fleas and Coyotes

Fleas feed on
the coyote .
The coyote
looses blood,
had sores, and
potentially gets
diseases from
the fleas

Triple Venn Summary

Use a 3-circle Venn Diagram to compare
and contrast parasitism, mutualism, and
commensalism.