1. How Do Living Things Interact With Each Other?: Community Interactions

2. Each Species Has An Ecological Niche Ecological Niche - Description of the role a species plays in a biological community –Generalists - Broad niche (live many places, eat many things, tolerant) –Specialists - Narrow niche (live in specific habitat, limited diet, not tolerant to change) The species “habitat” is where it lives; It’s niche is HOW it lives (its patterns of living)

3. Specialists – each shorebird has evolved to specialize in different food types, found in the sand

4. What is the niche of these species?

5. What Happens When Organisms Share Similar Niches? The Law of Competitive Exclusion tries to explain what happens in this situation: –The Law says: No two species can occupy the same niche and compete for the same resources for an extended period of time.

6. What Happens When Organisms Share Similar Niches? So, there are only a few options if this situation happens: –One will either migrate to avoid conflict –One will become extinct or get outcompeted by the other –OR, they species partition (or split) the resource and utilize a sub-set of the same resource. Resource partitioning – splitting the resource up by specializing. –Given resource can only be partitioned a certain number of times. –Example: Warbler Feeding in Trees

7. Resource Partitioning Each warbler eats insects and use pine trees to eat from. To avoid competition, species use different parts of the tree to forage in. The entire insect population is “partitioned” out amongst the five similar species.

8. Different Types of Species Interactions Symbiosis – Intimate living together of members of two or more species. –Commensalism - One member benefits while other is neither benefited nor harmed. Cattle and Cattle Egrets –Parasitism - One member benefits at the expense of other. –Humans and Tapeworms

9. Different Types of Species Interactions Predation - A predator is an organism that feeds directly upon another living organism.

10. Community Interactions Competition refers two organisms or species competing for some limiting resource, like food or nutrients, space, mates, nesting sites Both species are negatively impacted –Interspecific Competition - between members of different species. –Intraspecific Competition - between members of the same species. This helps to create territoriality - organisms defend specific area against others.

11. Predation A predator is an animal or other organism that hunts and kills other organisms, called prey, for food in an act called predation.

13. Symbiosis The living together of two different organisms. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Neutral Commensalism Mutualism Parasitism

14. Neutral Not taking part or giving assistance when it comes to organisms living together. Gets along with other organisms, but do not give assistance to life in any way

15. Commensalism A symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species one benefits the other is unaffected. Remoras attaching to a shark

16. Barnacles on a whale Birds on a cow

17. Mutualism An interaction between two or more species in which both species benefit from the other.

19. Mutualism Mutualism - Both members benefit. –Mychorrhizae – a relationship of fungus and plants Fungi grow on root systems of plants. Fungi collect water and nutrients at greater rate for plant, since the fungi makes root systems MUCH bigger Plant makes more food and then gives to fungus –Gut Mutualism When bacteria live in the guts of species. Bacteria break down materials that are difficult to digest and extract more nutrients for host animal. Bacteria get a place to live.

20. Parasitism A symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives off of the other organism, but does not kill it. –Parasites (mosquitoes & Head Lice)